Ethena expands access to USDe with Solana integration, SOL added as backing asset

Ethena Labs has announced that thanks to a new integration, users can buy and sell its USDe stablecoin on Solana.

The company said it "is confident that this integration [with Solana] will significantly increase the adoption of USDe and sUSDe, providing a whole new market of traders with a reward-accruing asset in sUSDe that substantially improves upon the traditional stablecoin experience," according to a statement.

Ethena has also added SOL as a backing asset. In April, Ethena Labs added bitcoin as a backing asset for its "synthetic dollar," which currently has a market capitalization of over $3 billion, according to The Block Price Page.

"In addition to increasing the strength and security of USDe’s backing, this will unlock $2 to $3 billion in additional open interest in the SOL futures market, allowing USDe to continue scaling," Ethena said in its statement, adding that since adding bitcoin as a backing asset, USDe's circulation has grown by more than $1 billion.

Unlike other stablecoins, like market-leading USDT and USDC, Ethena’s USDe token uses a mechanism that isn’t dependent on direct fiat or tangible asset backing. Ethena instead employs derivative hedging strategies with collateral positions involving ether and bitcoin and an arbitrage system for minting and redeeming to sustain its U.S. dollar peg.

USDe experienced nearly $100 million in redemptions a few days ago, likely the result of a broader market selloff that saw bitcoin fall under $50,000.