In a recent turn of events, Portugal-based startup, Ethena, known for developing an online savings bond and a novel Ethereum-based stablecoin supported by derivatives, has impressively garnered $6 million in a seed funding round. The driving force behind this funding round was a Crypto-specific venture capital firm, Dragonfly. The newly-acquired capital will be channeled towards the launch of the stablecoin and bond asset, anticipated for the third quarter of this year.
A number of influential contributors partook in the round, among them, BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes and his family office, Maelstrom, coupled with a variety of crypto derivatives exchanges, such as Deribit, Bybit, OKX, Gemini, and Huobi, among others.
Ethena, since its inception earlier this year, has been concentrating on the creation of two innovative products set to form a digital currency and savings platform. The proposed fully collateralized stablecoin boasts of on-chain custody and settlement, with a peg to the US dollar. A unique feature of this coin is its use of user-provided collateral that hedges the price exposure by betting against Ethereum using perpetual swaps, thereby upholding the coin’s stability at $1.
Notably, the company’s second output, a digitally-native savings bond, is achieved through a bond token built atop the stablecoin. The bond token operates quite like a US Treasury but conveniently avoids any ties to a government or centralized banking institution.
The reception from the Crypto community has been warm, with Dragonfly general partner Tom Schmidt exclaiming, “Ethena is building the holy grail of stablecoins…”. Yes, stablecoins have indeed been very popular over the recent years, offering access to USD-denominated savings and remittances worldwide. However, there have always been some caveats attached. According to Schmidt, Ethena’s unique design eliminates these while also benefiting a vast user base. He and his team seem thrilled to be partnering with Ethena, striving to bring their ground-breaking vision to life.
But as promising as it all seems, the question is, can Ethena truly deliver on its promises, bearing in mind the volatility and unpredictability of crypto markets? Let’s watch and see.
Source: Coindesk
