Ethena Foundation Raises $100M in Private Token Sale, Finalized in December

The sale attracted heavyweight investors, including Franklin Templeton, Polychain, Pantera, Dragonfly, and F-Prime, with ENA tokens selling

Web3 lending platform Ethena has raised $100 million in a private token sale that was finalized in December.

The sale saw participation from several prominent investors, including Franklin Templeton, Polychain, Pantera, Dragonfly, and F-Prime, among others.

According to the report by Bloomberg, the ENA tokens were sold at an average price of just under $0.40. At the time of the sale, ENA was trading at around $1.27. However, the token’s value has since declined, and it now trades at approximately $0.42.

The capital injection will be used to fuel Ethena’s expansion efforts, which include the development of a dedicated blockchain and the launch of its institutional-grade product, iUSDe.

A portion of the funds will also be allocated to buying back tokens from early investors in order to adjust valuation metrics.

Ethena’s USDe stablecoin has seen remarkable growth throughout 2023, emerging as the fourth-largest stablecoin in circulation with a supply of nearly $5.9 billion.

With the introduction of iUSDe, the project is seeking to integrate its staking-based model into traditional finance, targeting asset managers, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and private credit markets.

The token functions similarly to sUSDe but incorporates built-in compliance features to adhere to regulatory standards.

Earlier this year, Ethena Labs secured $14 million in a strategic funding round, which was led by Dragonfly and Maelstrom, the family office of BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes. The round valued the firm at $300 million.