Ethena Skyrockets to $290M Revenue Milestone as USDe Regulatory Clash Looms

Ethena's synthetic dollar protocol just hit Wall Street-worthy numbers—$290 million in revenue while regulators scramble to keep up.

The SEC showdown: USDe's status hangs in the balance as Ethena pushes for clarity. DeFi's latest cash machine might be building a financial rocket... or a regulatory time bomb.

Behind the numbers: That $290M revenue stamp proves institutional money's still chasing crypto yield—even if the suits won't admit it. The real question? Whether the SEC will bless this cash cow or slaughter it for steak.

SEC dialogue on payment stablecoin status

Ethena’s General Counsel, Zach Rosenberg, and attorneys from Morrison Cohen met with the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) crypto Task Force on July 1 to request clarity on “synthetic dollars,” such as USDe. 

A meeting memorandum released by the SEC shows that the team argued that USDe functions as a payment instrument rather than a security because holders do not rely on the issuer’s efforts for profit and because redemption rights track underlying reserves, not the issuer’s balance-sheet performance. 

The submission cites two pending bills, the GENIUS Act and the STABLE Act, that WOULD carve out a federal licensing lane for payment stablecoin issuers. Ethena told staff that USDe falls outside both drafts because the token can fluctuate slightly around $1 and carries no legal promise of par redemption, leaving it in regulatory limbo.

Company representatives urged the commission to treat synthetic dollars as a separate class and to coordinate with bank regulators if Congress finalizes a payment stablecoin framework. 

Ethena remains barred from US retail distribution pending formal guidance, so new dollar inflows primarily come from offshore funds and market-making desks that hedge their exposure on centralized exchanges. 

The protocol’s revenue pace slowed in May when average perpetual funding spreads compressed below an 8% annualized rate. Still, fee intake rebounded to $3.8 million per day in early July as renewed long-bias returned the basis to double-digit territory.

Ethena’s request for formal SEC feedback remains under review, according to the meeting log.