Ethena Labs launches stablecoin backed by BlackRock’s tokenized fund shares
Ethena Labs launched the USDtb stablecoin, backed by 90% of BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL). This partnership, facilitated by Securitize, allows USDtb to operate independently from Ethena’s existing USDe stablecoin, offering a differentiated risk profile. USDtb is designed for flexibility and risk mitigation, with potential backing for USDe approved by Ethena’s Risk Committee. The stablecoin is multichain, built as LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT), enabling transfers across blockchains like Ethereum, Base, Solana, and Arbitrum. Liquidity will be supported by major market makers including Jump and Cumberland. Ethena's USDe has seen significant growth, reaching a $5.6 billion market cap. Other DeFi protocols, like Aave, are exploring BUIDL for stability in their ecosystems. BlackRock aims to expand BUIDL for traditional finance, potentially using tokenized fund shares as collateral for derivatives trading, linking the derivatives market to the tokenized money funds sector.
