Ethena Protocol Surpasses $500M Revenue Amid Synthetic Stablecoin Surge
Ethena Labs reported that its Ethena protocol has generated over $500 million in cumulative revenue. In the past week, protocol revenue reached $13.4 million, while the circulating supply of its synthetic stablecoin USDe hit an all-time high of $11.7 billion. Strong inflows into USDe and favorable market conditions amplified returns via its delta-neutral hedging model. According to DefiLlama, USDe is now the third-largest stablecoin by market cap and leads synthetic stablecoins with an 86.6% monthly cap increase. Other synthetic stablecoins also gained: Sky Dollar (USDS) +14%, Falcon USD (USDf) +89.4%. Despite lower transaction costs, synthetic stablecoins carry depegging risks. The overall stablecoin market cap rose 4% in August to $277.8 billion, aided by US regulatory clarity from the GENIUS Act and Federal Reserve support. China may counter with yuan-backed stablecoins.
Bullish
Ethena’s revenue milestone and USDe’s rapid market cap growth signal increased adoption and confidence in synthetic stablecoins. The surge in inflows and favorable hedging returns mirror past bullish rallies seen in established stablecoins like USDC and DAI when they met key growth milestones. Short-term, this news may boost trading volumes and liquidity in USDe and related tokens. Long-term, successful scaling of synthetic stablecoins could intensify competition across the stablecoin sector and prompt new de-risking strategies, supporting broader market stability and innovation.