Ethena
Ethena issues USDe, a synthetic dollar whose price stability comes from a delta-neutral basis trade rather than from off-chain reserves. Every unit of USDe is backed by long spot ETH offset by an equivalent short perpetual futures position, capturing the funding rate as native yield.
The mechanism replaces the traditional stablecoin business model — earn on treasuries, pay nothing to holders — with a design that shares the spread with users through sUSDe. As of Q1 2026 the network pays approximately 9.4% APY, sourced entirely from perp funding rates and staking rewards.
USDe has crossed $6.2B in circulation and now sits inside the top four dollar-denominated tokens on-chain. Institutional integrations are live across 12 major venues including Bybit, OKX, and dYdX.
A synthetic dollar with a yield mechanism that pays a real basis-trade rate rather than a subsidy. We wrote the first check in the seed round.
Guy Young
CEO & FounderConor Ryder
Head of ResearchElliot Parker
Head of ProductSeraphim Czecker
Head of Risk- Q2 2023Founded by Guy Young
- Q3 2023Oryon leads seed
- Q1 2024USDe mainnet, $500M in first month
- Q2 2025sUSDe crosses $4B staked
USDe supply crossed $6.2B. Institutional integrations expanding across 12 major venues.
“Ethena is the first credible stablecoin design that doesn't depend on a treasury business.”
— Delphi Digital, Jan 2026
“The basis-trade dollar is now a category, and Guy Young invented it.”
— The Defiant, Feb 2026
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