Ethena Adds Equities to Basis Trade, Shutters HIP-3 Market
Ethena is expanding USDe into equity perps as it overhauls ENA tokenomics and looks to reignite ecosystem growth.
Ethena is expanding USDe’s yield engine beyond crypto while overhauling ENA’s tokenomics as momentum returns to the ecosystem.
What’s the Scoop?
- From HyENA to Equities: Ethena is expanding USDe’s basis trade into equity perps just as HyENA, the USDe-margined HIP-3 exchange it backed, shuts down, stifled by Hyperliquid’s increasing alignment with USDC. All HyENA markets will be shuttered by Sept. 2.
- ENA Gets an Overhaul: Yesterday, the Ethena Foundation announced a series of changes aimed at tightening ENA’s economics. It bought out locked tokens from certain seed investors, shifted protocol IP and economic value toward the Foundation, pushed remaining original investor unlocks to Oct. 5, and proposed an ENA fee switch that would begin buybacks once USDe supply returns above $7.5B.
- Momentum Returns: USDe supply has climbed back above $4B over the last month while ENA has rallied alongside the announcements. The token is up roughly 15% over the past week and over 100% the past month.
David Christopher
David is a writer/analyst at Bankless. Prior to joining Bankless, he worked for a series of early-stage crypto startups and on grants from the Ethereum, Solana, and Urbit Foundations. He graduated from Skidmore College in New York. He currently lives in the Midwest and enjoys NFTs, but no longer participates in them.
