Ethena to Invest in Tokenized Real-World Assets, BlackRock Among Applicants

Ethena, the organization behind the $3.4 billion USDe token, is set to invest a portion of its reserves in tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).

BlackRock’s BUIDL fund is among the early contenders for this opportunity.

In a July 16 update, Ethena announced its intention to allocate part of its $235 million in USDT and its $45 million Reserve Fund towards RWAs to generate additional returns. The USDe token creates yields by buying Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) and shorting these assets on exchanges.

BlackRock’s BUIDL, which operates as a money market fund via an Ethereum token, is seeking $34 million from Ethena’s Reserve Fund. Other applicants include Steakhouse Financial, which proposed a USDC lending vault on the Morpho Blue platform, and Mountain Protocol, which has expressed interest in submitting a proposal soon.

Ethena’s initiative is part of a broader trend in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, where tokenized RWAs are becoming increasingly prominent. Recently, MakerDAO and ArbitrumDAO also announced significant investments in tokenized assets.