Ethena Taps Binance Equity Perpetuals to Diversify USDe Backing

Ethena has expanded $USDe’s collateral strategy into tokenized equities through a partnership with Binance, targeting new yield opportunities beyond crypto markets. The move pairs Binance’s bStocks with equity perpetuals, creating a delta-neutral structure designed to capture funding income.

Expanding Beyond Crypto

Ethena will use bStocks as the spot side while shorting Binance’s USDT-denominated equity perpetuals. Consequently, the strategy mirrors the basis trade that Ethena has used across Bitcoin, Ether, and other crypto assets.

Besides, the expansion gives $USDe exposure to a much broader pool of potential collateral. Ethena estimates global real-world assets exceed $150 trillion, compared with roughly $2.5 trillion across crypto.

Significantly, Binance’s equity perpetuals have offered stronger funding returns than major crypto markets recently. Ethena reported average equity funding near 17.5% between May 20 and August 11.

However, funding conditions have weakened since then. Kairos Research found approved Binance equity contracts averaging about 7% annually on August 26.

New Risk Controls

Additionally, Binance gives eligible delta-neutral accounts lower auto-deleveraging priority. That arrangement could reduce certain risks during periods of severe market stress.

Moreover, Ethena’s Risk Committee requires sufficient open interest, funding history, and matching tokenized stocks. The framework excludes leveraged and inverse ETFs.

Ethena’s $USDe supply currently stands near $4.9 billion. Hence, the equity expansion could diversify its yield sources as crypto funding rates remain comparatively subdued.

Related: Bitcoin Records $2.52B Exchange Outflows in Three Days, Led by Binance