Ethena, the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol known for its $1.3 billion USDe token, announced today that it plans to launch its governance token. According to a recent blog post, the token will be introduced to users through an airdrop scheduled for April 2.
The protocol plans to distribute a total of 750 million ENA tokens, representing 5% of the total supply. The “shard” winning campaign, which qualifies users for the token airdrop, will end on April 1. Users who bought back, unlocked or sold all their USDe before this date will not be considered for the airdrop.
Starting the day after the airdrop, users will be able to claim their tokens. ENA will also be listed on centralized exchanges, according to the blog post. Following the airdrop, Ethena will launch a new campaign with additional incentives for the next phase of the airdrop.
Ethena's USDe token, often referred to as a “synthetic dollar”, claims to provide stable returns to investors. This is achieved by using Ethereum (ETH) liquid staking tokens, such as Lido's stETH, as the supporting asset. These are paired with short ETH perpetual futures positions of equal value on derivative exchanges to maintain a “rough target” price of $1. Known as “cash and carry” trading, this strategy uses derivative funding rates to generate returns.
The USDe token has seen significant growth recently, rising from $85 million at the beginning of the year to $1.3 billion.
*This is not investment advice.
