Telegram App and More Stablecoin Plans

Ethena Labs unveiled its 2025 roadmap on January 3, introducing a Telegram-based payment and savings application leveraging its sUSDe stablecoin. 

The platform aims to deliver a streamlined neobank experience directly through Telegram. 

Ethena’s Roadmap Outlines Ambitious Plans for TradFi Adoption

According to the roadmap, the Telegram app will allow users to send, spend, and save sUSDe directly within the messaging platform. The app will also integrate with Apple Pay, allowing seamless transitions between sUSDe savings and mobile payments.

Also, Ethena’s roadmap outlined its strategy to compete with Tether by transforming from a single-asset issuer into Ethena Network, a platform designed for on-chain financial innovation.

“Rather than compete directly with payments companies on their own turf, we plan to address the payments and savings tool use case via building a dedicated application on Telegram and within the TON ecosystem,” Ethena Labs wrote. 

As part of this transformation, the blockchain platform plans to launch iUSDe in February. iUSDe will be built on Ethena’s synthetic dollar, sUSDe. It will incorporate token-level transfer restrictions through a “simple wrapper contract.”

A key priority for the first quarter of 2025 is partnering with traditional finance institutions to distribute iUSDe to their clients. Ethena intends to announce these collaborations by the end of January. 

Ethena achieved remarkable growth in the crypto sector, becoming the second-fastest protocol to surpass $100 million in revenue. The network reached the milestone in just 251 days. 

This placed it behind the Solana meme coin platform Pump.fun, which hit the same figure in 217 days.

In 2024, Ethena introduced significant advancements, including the December launch of USDtb, a stablecoin backed 90% by BlackRock’s BUIDL fund. 

Unlike USDe, USDtb features a cash-equivalent reserve model. It offers scalable and unrestricted transfers to enhance market stability.

The company also partnered with Trump-backed World Liberty Financial (WLFI), linked to a governance proposal under review. If approved, sUSDe, a staked version of USDe, will serve as a core collateral asset on WLFI’s Aave instance.

Also, Ethena’s native token, ENA, has seen a sharp rally since December. The altcoin climbed 33% over the past week, including a 15% surge following the roadmap announcement.

The roadmap also hinted at several stablecoin-powered products set for release this quarter, including perpetual products, prediction markets, gamble finance platforms, and undercollateralized lending. 

These developments align with Ethena’s focus on expanding its presence within the decentralized financial ecosystem.