Ethena Labs Launches USDtb Stablecoin Backed by BlackRock

Ethena Labs launched a new stablecoin today called ‘USDtb.’ Nearly 90% of the stablecoin’s reserves are backed by BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenized fund.

This new asset complements Ethena’s previous stablecoin, USDe, and helps Ethena Labs manage difficult market conditions.

Ethena Labs’ New Stablecoin Offering

According to the announcement, USDtb is a “wholly independent product” from USDe, the first stablecoin from Ethena. It clarified that this new offering has a different risk profile from USDe due to its substantial backing from BlackRock’s fund.

“USDtb functions like a traditional stablecoin such as USDC or USDT, utilizing cash and cash-equivalent reserve assets to back each token. Blackrock’s BUIDL represents the vast majority of the USDtb backing, currently the highest BUIDL allocation of any stablecoin in the market,” Ethena Labs stated on social media.

Ethena Labs announced its plan to introduce USDtb back in September, and the token finally went live today, December 16. There is notable enthusiasm in the crypto community, as this is the first major stablecoin to be backed by BlackRock’s tokenization fund.

Meanwhile, the intrigue surrounding this launch has been reflected in Ethena’s native token. Following the news, ENA surged to its highest price since April, reaching $1.32. Since then, it has based brief corrections and currently trades at $1.20. The token has gained nearly 117% in the past month.

A New Competitor in the Stablecoin Market

With the anticipation around USDtb since September, ENA has received several investments in the last few months. According to Binance, Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial (WLFI) recently invested about $500,000 in the token. The venture also invested in other altcoins, such as LINK and AAVE.

Also, Ethena Labs claimed that the stablecoin could scale without any practical constraints because of the BUIDL backing, and users will enjoy free and unrestricted transfers.

Although the new stablecoin is a completely different product from USDe, they will have a symbiotic relationship. As USDtb is a more stable asset with substantial reserves, it can be used as a backing asset for USDe.

“Ethena’s Risk Committee approved a proposal last week to onboard USDtb as a USDe backing asset. During periods of negative funding rates, Ethena will be able to close the hedging positions underlying USDe and re-allocate its backing assets to USDtb to further ameliorate related risks,” the firm wrote on its annoucement.

In other words, USDtb will allow Ethena to offer new options to consumers and security for its own investment options. With this launch, Ethena Labs is looking to strengthen its position in the highly competitive stablecoin market.

While Tether’s USDT and Circles USDC have largely dominated the market for several years, these new products can drive wider competitiveness in the market. Ripple’s new RLUSD stablecoin is also set to launch tomorrow. If these assets continue to gain popularity, Tether’s long-standing dominance in the market might shrink throughout 2025.