Ethena accounts for nearly 5% of global Ethereum perpetual futures open interest

The Ethena protocol behind the USDe digital dollar currently accounts for nearly 5% of global Ethereum perpetual futures open interest contracts. USDe is a token pegged to the value of the US dollar, which can provide high returns. Although it is described as a stablecoin, the team avoids using this term and instead explains it as a "synthetic dollar." George Calle, Vice President of Research at TheBlock, emphasized that Ethena's USDe is essentially a tokenized representation of cash and arbitrage that exists in the crypto market. Therefore, it generates returns by shorting Ethereum futures and staking Ether. According to CoinGecko data, the project's advertised yield of up to 27% has so far attracted users to mint approximately $420 million worth of USDe tokens.