World Liberty Financial (WLFI) Integrates Ethena Labs’ sUSDe Token as Collateral

The integration will initially start by adding Ethena's yield-bearing token, sUSDe, into the WLFI ecosystem. Ethena will be the first token allowed for usage as collateral within the WLFI platform and will run using the Aave backend.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) has announced a new multi-pronged partnership with Ethena Labs.

The integration will begin with the addition of Ethena’s yield-bearing stablecoin, sUSDe, to the WLFI ecosystem. Ethena will be the first token to be used as collateral on the WLFI platform, which will be powered by the Aave protocol.

Both companies said the partnership will initially explore the possibility of using sUSDe as collateral. This could give WLFI’s Aave instance access to Ethena’s Total Value Locked (TVL) and user base.

If approved by WLFI governance, sUSDe will be the first token to be used as collateral on the WLFI Aave instance.

“In the unlikely event that the WLFI Aave instance is not approved by governance, or sUSDe is not approved as a collateral asset, WLFI and Ethena would continue to explore opportunities to collaborate,” the companies said in a statement.

Ethena’s token, sUSDe, was listed on Aave markets in mid-November. In less than a month, it has already attracted over $1.2 billion in assets.

If the integration is successful, it could also lead to an increase in stablecoin deposits on the WLFI platform, as many users are known to use sUSDe as collateral to borrow stablecoins such as USDC and USDT.

The partnership follows a series of developments at WLFI. Earlier this month, the platform announced the appointment of Tron founder Justin Sun as an advisor and secured a $30 million investment from HTX, a crypto exchange linked to Sun.

Additionally, WLFI has also purchased $600,000 worth of ENA tokens from Ethena. While the purchase is not directly related to the partnership, it does indicate WLFI’s belief in the potential of the Ethena network.

World Liberty Financial was founded in September 2024, and its public token sale was launched in October. While Trump has been critical of cryptocurrencies in the past, his involvement in WLFI suggests a softening stance toward the crypto market and could lead to more favorable regulations for digital assets.

In other news, Trump’s investment in Chainlink (LINK) has reportedly attracted the attention of several large crypto funds, known as whales.

According to Footprint Analytics data, seven addresses have purchased a total of 1.2 million LINK tokens over the past seven days. The average purchase price was $6.8, for a total investment of about $80 million.

The seven addresses, which are likely to belong to crypto funds or exchanges, now hold a combined total of 2.1 million LINK tokens, valued at about $140 million.

The recent interest in LINK follows the news of Trump’s investment in the token, which was revealed earlier this month. Footprint Analytics data shows that seven addresses began accumulating LINK tokens on Jan. 11, the day after Trump’s announcement.

The seven addresses have continued to purchase LINK tokens throughout the week, with the last purchase being made on Jan. 17.

It is unclear why the seven addresses have chosen to accumulate LINK tokens, but it is possible that they are betting on the token to continue rising in value.

LINK has been one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies over the past year, and it is currently ranked 22nd by market capitalization. The token has risen by over 1,000% since hitting a low of $1.5 in March 2023.

The recent interest in LINK from large crypto funds could be a sign that more institutional money is flowing into the cryptocurrency market. This could help to sustain the bull market and lead to further gains for cryptocurrencies in 2024.