Ethena, the protocol supporting the USDe synthetic dollar, recorded $6.53 million in fees in the last 24 hours, solidifying its position as the top fee-generating decentralized application (dApp) in the cryptocurrency industry, according to data from DeFillama.
Seraphim Czecker, Head of Growth at Ethena Labs, shared insights from Token Terminal, confirming the project’s incredible milestone. According to data from Czecker, Ethena has amassed around $6.8 million in fees over the past week, outperforming competitors such as MakerDAO and Arbitrum.
However, compared to major blockchain networks, the returns are minimal. For example, Tron and Ethereum boasted revenues of $38.6 million and $182.5 million, respectively.
What exactly is USDe?
USDe is a token that is pegged to the dollar value and offers profitable returns. Although it is often classified as a stablecoin, the team avoids this term, preferring instead to use “synthetic dollars.”
Ethena Labs launched synthetic dollars on the public mainnet on February 19 to attract the attention of a wide range of investors. At the time, the project debuted with an annualized return (APY) of 27.6%, surpassing the 20% return provided by Anchor Protocol on its TerraUSD (UST) algorithmic stablecoin before its collapse in May 2022.
USDe’s unique model attracted $14 million investment from renowned players such as Arthur Hayes, Brevan Howard, Franklin Templeton, Galaxy Digital and Binance Labs.
In a recent update, Hayes, co-founder of the BitMEX exchange, predicted that the project could overturn Tether’s USDT dominance in the industry.
Hayes said:
“I believe Ethena could overtake Tether to become the largest stablecoin. (But) it will take many years for this prophecy to come true.”
fast growth
Since its mainnet launch, USDe has experienced exponential growth, with its total locked value surging 44% in the past week and 409% in the past month, reaching $838 million, according to DeFillama data.
This rapid growth has propelled USDe into one of the top ten stablecoins by market capitalization, reaching this milestone in less than three weeks.
Market analysts attributed this impressive growth to the project’s attractive staking yields. Ethena offers a respectable 67.2% return on the USDe synthetic dollar, as stated on its website.
Additionally, USDe now accounts for a significant portion of global Ether perpetual futures open interest, accounting for nearly 8.69%. In particular, according to the data provided on the website, the average funding rate is an impressive 58.35%.
Mentioned in this article
