Ethena Blames Binance Pricing for USDe Crash
Ethena Labs founder Guy Young blamed Binance’s internal pricing method for the USDe stablecoin’s brief depeg during last Friday’s market crash. Binance relied on its thin order-book oracle and limited liquidity, driving USDe from $1 to as low as $0.65 on the exchange. Elsewhere, USDe minting and redemption operated normally, with $2 billion redeemed across Curve, Fluid and Uniswap pools and price deviations within 30 bps. Analysts had warned that Binance’s Unified Account feature, which uses proprietary oracle data, was vulnerable. Crypto trader “ElonTrades” suggests attackers dumped about $90 million USDe on Binance while shorting BTC and ETH on Hyperliquid, earning roughly $192 million and triggering some $20 billion in liquidations. In response, Binance plans to adopt external oracle feeds by October 14 and has lifted deposit and withdrawal restrictions to allow arbitrage. The incident underscores the need for robust oracle design and deep liquidity in stablecoin markets.
Bearish
The USDe depeg on Binance caused by an internal oracle issue and thin liquidity undermines trader confidence in stablecoin stability. Short-term, exposure to USDe may be reduced and price remains under pressure as risk perception rises. Long-term, Binance’s shift to external oracles could restore trust, but the incident highlights ongoing protocol vulnerabilities, keeping market sentiment cautious.