Ethena's native token ENA surged more than 20% on 3 June as the cryptocurrency protocol entered new partnerships with Anchorage Digital and Coinbase, with the latter purchasing an undisclosed number of ENA tokens.
Ethena Climbs as Pacts with Coinbase, Anchorage Expand Protocol's Reach
4 June 2026 - 01:38 CEST
By Jona Jaupi
Ethena is a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol built on Ethereum with a total value locked (TVL) of $5.4bn – down sharply from its all-time high of $12bn in October 2025, but up from recent lows of $4.4bn in April, according to DeFiLlama.
ENA traded at $0.11 as of 20:30 UTC, up about 23% over the previous 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data. The rally pushed the token's market capitalization above $1bn, while 24-hour trading volume climbed to around $600mn. The gains came despite a broader market selloff that saw the total cryptocurrency market capitalization fall 3.7% over the same period with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) falling 3.4% and 6%, respectively.
The gains followed a series of partnerships announced over the past 24 hours that indicate the protocol's efforts to bring its products to a broader audience are bearing fruit.
Coinbase invests in ENA
First, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase revealed in a post on X on 2 Jun that it had partnered with Ethena to develop new finance and savings products, with the first initiative expected to launch next week.
Ethena also said in a separate announcement that Coinbase Ventures – the exchange's venture capital arm – had purchased ENA tokens on the open market, marking its first investment in the protocol.
The announcement came as Ethena looks to expand the use of its products, including the Ethena USDe (USDe) "synthetic dollar" and yield-bearing Ethena Staked (sUSDe) token.
Unlike typical stablecoins that are backed by fiat currencies, usually the US dollar, Ethena's USDe is kept at $1 through a hedging strategy. The USDe has a market capitalization of roughly $4.5bn, making it the sixth-largest stablecoin by value and one of the largest dollar-pegged assets outside of Tether's USDT and Circle's USD Coin (USDC). According to DefiLlama data, USDe's supply has more than doubled since the start of 2025, when it stood at around $2bn.
Meanwhile, Ethena's sUSDe product, which has a market capitalization of $1.7bn, allows users to stake their USDe to earn yield. Together, the two products account for more than $6bn in value and remain among the largest yield-bearing dollar products in DeFi.
Neither company disclosed how many ENA tokens Coinbase Ventures purchased or provided details about the product expected to launch next week.
Anchorage targets institutional lending
The Coinbase announcement also came the same day Anchorage Digital – a regulated crypto platform and the first federally chartered cryptocurrency bank in the US – announced it would serve as collateral manager for Ethena's institutional lending activity through its Atlas platform.
Under the arrangement, borrowers' collateral remains in custody at Anchorage while Ethena invests in loans.
The move expands an existing relationship between the two companies. Anchorage Digital Bank already serves as the US issuer of USDtb, Ethena's stablecoin backed by tokenized money market funds (MMFs) and other cash-equivalent assets. USDtb recently surpassed $1bn in market capitalization after growing around 67% over the past month, according to RWA.xyz data.
"Institutions want access to crypto-native capital, but not at the cost of custody, controls, or operational rigor," said Nathan McCauley, co-founder and CEO, Anchorage Digital. "Atlas Collateral Management lets protocols like Ethena Labs meet institutional borrowers where they are, combining the speed of DeFi with the standards institutions require."
