Protocol Ethena will launch a new stablecoin, iUSDe, aimed at large institutions, along with a payment application based on Telegram. Project founder G shared these plans.

https://t.co/01TIlgj1DT
— G | Ethena (@leptokurtic_) January 3, 2025

The team intends to realize these initiatives in Q1 2025, marking the start of Ethena’s development into a “neobank.”

“The next phase of growth will primarily be driven by bringing the product into traditional finance. The infrastructure is already in place, the regulatory path in TradFi is clear, and the scope of opportunities dwarfs anything we’ve seen in crypto so far,” G said.

According to the announcement, Ethena accounted for about 85% of USD-based digital asset growth on the Ethereum network in 2024 (excluding USDT and USDC). Additionally, in December the protocol’s annualized rate exceeded $1.2 billion, making it the second-fastest crypto startup—after Pump.fun on Solana—to reach $100 million in revenue.

iUSDe: Targeting Traditional Markets

The new synthetic stablecoin iUSDe is designed for traditional finance. The founder expects asset managers, ETF issuers, brokers, credit funds, and investment trusts to adopt it.

According to Ethena’s co-founder, iUSDe is “identical” to sUSDe—the reward token users earn when they stake USDe. The new token’s mechanism supports programmable transfer restrictions to preserve trust among financial organizations.

Institutions can obtain iUSDe “without needing to touch crypto rails” by purchasing shares in special purpose entities. Because USDe is pegged to the dollar, “financial companies can value iUSDe as a spread to risk-free rates,” G explained. Another advantage is that its yield is negatively correlated with real interest rates.

Future Telegram Payment App

The upcoming Telegram-based application will utilize the TON blockchain and Apple Pay, enabling “direct mobile payments.”

Additional Products

Ethena’s founder also announced two upcoming products:

Ethereal — a crypto exchange offering both spot and futures trading.
Derive — a protocol providing on-chain options and structured products collateralized in sUSDe.

Context

In December 2024, the team introduced the USDtb stablecoin in collaboration with Securitize, a platform specializing in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.