Ethena Expands Into TradFi With New iUSDe Product, Telegram Partnership

Ethena, a decentralized stablecoin protocol, has announced plans for expansion into traditional finance (TradFi) with a new product and a strategic partnership with Telegram.

DeFi stablecoin protocol Ethena has announced plans to expand into traditional finance (TradFi) with a new product and a strategic partnership with Telegram, a blog post by the company revealed.

Ethena, known for its high-yield stablecoin USDe, is set to launch iUSDe, a version of USDe specifically tailored for institutional investors such as asset managers and pension funds.

"The next step of Ethena’s growth will primarily be driven by exporting the product into traditional finance," G, founder of Ethena, stated in the announcement.

iUSDe will enable traditional financial institutions like asset managers and pension funds to gain exposure to USDe's yields without directly engaging with cryptocurrency. According to Ethena, it is collaborating with the "full spectrum" of traditional finance distribution partners to provide their clients access to iUSDe.

"By providing the connective tissue to legacy finance... capital will be free to flow into Ethena at unprecedented scale," G explained.

Moreover, Ethena is partnering with Telegram to launch a dedicated application for sending, spending, and saving USDe, further expanding its reach. This integration taps into Telegram's vast user base of over 900 million, potentially positioning Ethena as a major player in the payments and savings space.

"A dollar with a yield... is the only crypto enabled product I believe will touch the hands of a billion people outside of Bitcoin," G stated, highlighting Ethena's ambitious goal to make USDe a widely accessible financial tool for a global audience.

In addition to these initiatives, Ethena is also building the Ethena Network, a platform designed to foster innovation within the DeFi ecosystem. The network will support new protocols built on USDe, creating a thriving community of developers and further enhancing the stablecoin's utility.

Ethena, which launched in February 2024, reported annualized revenue of $1.2 billion in the last month of 2024 and grew to become the third-largest USD asset in the space, with a supply of $6 billion in 10 months.

The company also noted that outside of USDT and USDC, it accounted for 85% of all onchain USD asset growth in 2024. Additionally, USDe has been outpacing aggregate ETF growth in notional dollar inflows in recent weeks.

Following the announcement, the ENA token has seen a rally of about 25%, reaching $1.25 as of press time.