Key Takeaways
- • YZi Labs, the family office founded by Binance co-founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao and Yi He (rebranded from Binance Labs), has expanded its position in Ethena Labs, the protocol behind USDe.
- • USDe has reached more than $13 billion in circulation, making it the third-largest U.S. dollar-denominated crypto asset, according to the primary report.
- • USDe crossed the $10 billion supply milestone faster than any other dollar-pegged crypto asset, less than two years after its launch.
- • Ethena is extending its footprint onto BNB Chain and building institutional and fiat-backed products, including USDtb and Converge, a settlement layer being developed with Securitize and partners connected to BlackRock.
Summary
YZi Labs, the family office founded by Binance co-founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao and Yi He, has deepened its investment in Ethena Labs, according to CoinDesk. The family office was rebranded from Binance Labs. The investment comes as Ethena moves into a new stage of growth, which includes extending its presence on BNB Chain and rolling out products intended to bridge crypto and traditional finance.
Ethena's USDe, marketed as a "synthetic dollar," has more than $13 billion in circulation and is now the third-largest U.S. dollar-denominated crypto asset. The token is backed by bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL), paired with an equal value of short perpetual futures positions on exchanges to maintain a $1 peg. Launched less than two years ago, USDe crossed the $10 billion supply milestone faster than any other dollar-pegged crypto asset.
Dana Hou, investment partner at YZi Labs, said: "Since our investment team first met Guy [Young] in late 2023, Ethena has become the category definer for yield-bearing synthetic dollars." Hou's comments were included in the primary report; the report did not specify the size of the new investment.
Ethena is also developing several products. USDtb is a fiat-backed stablecoin in development. Converge is an institutional settlement layer being built with Securitize and partners connected to BlackRock, and is designed to create a familiar settlement layer for tokenized assets. According to the report, these developments could give users more options for holding and using digital dollars across centralized exchanges and decentralized finance protocols, and could broaden institutional adoption of on-chain financial infrastructure.
Ethena's USDe, marketed as a "synthetic dollar," has more than $13 billion in circulation and is now the third-largest U.S. dollar-denominated crypto asset. The token is backed by bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL), paired with an equal value of short perpetual futures positions on exchanges to maintain a $1 peg. Launched less than two years ago, USDe crossed the $10 billion supply milestone faster than any other dollar-pegged crypto asset.
Dana Hou, investment partner at YZi Labs, said: "Since our investment team first met Guy [Young] in late 2023, Ethena has become the category definer for yield-bearing synthetic dollars." Hou's comments were included in the primary report; the report did not specify the size of the new investment.
Ethena is also developing several products. USDtb is a fiat-backed stablecoin in development. Converge is an institutional settlement layer being built with Securitize and partners connected to BlackRock, and is designed to create a familiar settlement layer for tokenized assets. According to the report, these developments could give users more options for holding and using digital dollars across centralized exchanges and decentralized finance protocols, and could broaden institutional adoption of on-chain financial infrastructure.
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