Ethena expands USDe backing into tokenized stocks and equity perpetuals on Binance
Ethena Labs has partnered with Binance to back its USDe synthetic dollar with tokenized stocks hedged with equity perpetual futures, marking its first venue for extending its basis-trade strategy into traditional equities.
Ethena Labs has partnered with Binance as its first venue to extend the delta-neutral basis trade backing its USDe synthetic dollar into equities, with allocations beginning on Sept. 25, 2026. Under the arrangement, Binance's tokenized bStocks serve as spot collateral and are hedged by shorting USDT-denominated equity perpetual futures. The bStocks, which track U.S. equities and ETFs, are issued by Binance affiliate BTech Holdings Limited and grant holders an interest in backing shares rather than direct ownership.[1][4][3]
The protocol moved into equities following declines in crypto perpetual funding yields. Ethena disclosed that open-interest-weighted bitcoin funding rates fell from an annualized average of 11.0% in 2024 to 2.2% in 2026 through Aug. 11, whereas Binance equity perpetuals yielded an average of 17.5% between May 20 and Aug. 11. Ethena and industry reports noted that expanding into equity perpetuals widens the protocol's addressable collateral base from approximately $2.5 trillion in crypto to more than $150 trillion in real-world assets.[1][2][5][6]
The framework follows risk parameters outlined by Kairos Research for Ethena's Risk Committee. Kairos recommended approving bStocks only after formalizing a side letter restricting the issuer's use of backing shares, warning that the spot leg otherwise functions as unsecured credit exposure to a Binance affiliate. Under the proposed risk rules, venues must maintain at least $25 million in 14-day average open interest and 30 days of funding history for qualifying perpetuals.[1]
Key facts
- Ethena Labs partnered with Binance to back USDe with tokenized stocks hedged against equity perpetual futures, starting allocations on Sept. 25, 2026.
- The basis trade pairs Binance's tokenized bStocks as spot collateral with short USDT-denominated equity perpetual futures.
- bStocks are issued by Binance affiliate BTech Holdings Limited and provide an interest in shares held by the issuer rather than direct share ownership.
- Ethena reported that bitcoin perpetual funding rates fell to an annualized 2.2% in 2026 through Aug. 11, while Binance equity perpetuals averaged 17.5% from May 20 to Aug. 11, 2026.
- The addition of equity perpetuals expands Ethena's potential addressable collateral market from about $2.5 trillion in crypto to over $150 trillion in real-world assets.
- Kairos Research advised Ethena to approve bStocks only once a side letter is executed, warning that the spot position otherwise represents unsecured credit exposure to a Binance affiliate.
Sources · 6 sources
- UN
UnchainedArticle ·
Ethena Starts Backing USDe With Tokenized Stocks on Binance, Its First Equity Basis Venue Ethena Labs will start backing its USDe synthetic dollar with tokenized U.S. stocks, naming Binance as the first venue for extending its basis trade into equities. Ethena announced the partnership on Friday and said allocations begin the same day. Binance’s bStocks , which track U.S. equities and ETFs and can be converted into the underlying shares on Binance.com subject to applicable laws, will be the spot leg of the position. Ethena will hedge them by shorting Binance’s USDT-denominated equity perpetual futures , the same delta-neutral setup it has used with bitcoin, ether and other crypto assets since USDe launched. “This is the most significant expansion of USDe’s funding mechanism since we started,” Ethena Labs founder Guy Young said in a press release. “Equities trade in the hundreds of trillions of dollars globally, and as more of that market moves onchain, we see a substantial opportunity to continue diversifying our backing strategy.” bStocks are issued by BTech Holdings Limited, a Binance group affiliate. Holders get an interest in shares the issuer holds, not direct ownership of the stock, according to the release. Why Ethena Is Moving Into Equities USDe has historically earned much of its yield from funding payments that leveraged long traders make to short sellers in perpetual futures markets. That income has thinned in crypto. In an August blog post , Ethena said bitcoin funding rates, weighted by open interest, averaged 11.0% annualized in 2024 before sliding to 4.9% in 2025 and 2.2% this year through Aug. 11. Binance’s equity perpetuals averaged 17.5% from May 20 to Aug. 11, the post said. That carry has since narrowed. Kairos Research, which reviewed the trade for Ethena’s Risk Committee, said the Binance names that pass its approval test averaged roughly 18% annualized in late July and about 7% as of Aug. 26, with two of them negative. Open interest on Binance’s equity perpetuals tops $2.9 billion and has compounded at 105% a month in 2026, the release said. Ethena said Binance also gives eligible delta-neutral accounts, including its own, lower priority for auto-deleveraging, the process an exchange uses to close profitable positions when a liquidation leaves a shortfall. Shunyet Jan, Binance’s head of exchange and trading, said the move “is a clear sign of how the convergence of crypto and traditional assets will surface new opportunities.” Risk Committee Rules The expansion follows an approval framework from Ethena’s Risk Committee for tokenized equity basis trades. In an August report for the committee, Kairos Research proposed that a stock qualify on a venue only if its perpetual has averaged at least $25 million in one-sided open interest over 14 days, carries 30 days of funding history and has a matching tokenized stock on the same venue. Leveraged and inverse ETFs would be excluded. Kairos recommended approving bStocks only once a side letter now being negotiated with the issuer is in place. Until that letter restricts what the issuer can do with the backing shares, the report said, the spot leg “is unsecured credit exposure to a Binance affiliate rather than a claim on the stock.” USDe has about $4.9 billion in circulation , according to DefiLlama. Ethena overhauled USDe’s reserves in April, adding institutional lending and real-world assets. It said Friday it expects to bring the equity structure to more venues. Related Listen: How Tokenized Stocks Could Undercut Interactive Brokers’ 77% Profit Margin The post Ethena Starts Backing USDe With Tokenized Stocks on Binance, Its First Equity Basis Venue appeared first on Unchained .
Open source - CN
crypto.news@cryptodotnewsPost on X ·
JUST IN: Ethena partners with Binance to expand into equity perpetuals Binance's tokenized bStocks will serve as spot collateral, expanding Ethena's potential collateral base from about $2.5 trillion in crypto to more than $150 trillion in real-world assets. https://t.co/OBdumaEVig
Open source - CO
CoinDesk@CoinDeskPost on X ·
NEW: @Ethena partners with @Binance to back $USDe with tokenized stocks as spot collateral, hedged with equity perpetuals, bringing the same delta-neutral structure it uses for crypto to real-world assets. https://t.co/pakXmwB92D
Open source - WB
Wu Blockchain@WuBlockchainPost on X ·
Ethena Expands USDe Basis Strategy Into Tokenized Stocks With Binance Ethena is partnering with Binance as the first venue to extend USDe’s basis-trade strategy into equity perpetuals, with allocations beginning today. Binance bStocks will serve as tokenized spot collateral, while corresponding exposure is hedged through USDT-denominated equity perpetuals. The move extends USDe’s existing delta-neutral strategy beyond crypto-native assets into tokenized equities.
Open source - BS
BSCN@BSCNewsPost on X ·
JUST IN: Ethena announces official partnership with Binance. @ethena has partnered with @Binance as the first venue to support its extension of the basis trade into equity perpetuals. Binance's tokenised bStocks will serve as tokenized spot collateral as part of the partnership. "This expands the addressable market of underlying collateral from $2.5 trillion of crypto to $150 trillion+ of real-world assets." The $ENA token has experienced a small price spike on the news.
Open source - BA
BanklessArticle ·
Ethena Expands USDe Backing Into Equity Perpetuals Expanding its USDe basis trade to Binance equity perps means Ethena, in theory, opens itself up to a $150T+ market of real-world assets.
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