Founder of Ethena: Yield is Not a Commodity Due to Lack of Trust

Guy Yang, founder and CEO of Ethena Labs, stated on stage at TOKEN2049 in Singapore that yield is not a commodity, as trust in how an operator manages risks varies greatly. According to him, two products can offer the same yield while carrying completely different risks. The conference took place on October 7-8, 2026.

Ethena issues USDe, a synthetic dollar, and sUSDe, its yield-bearing version. The mechanics operate on a delta-neutral strategy: the protocol holds staking assets while simultaneously opening shorts in perpetual futures. If the price of the underlying asset rises, staking generates profit while the short incurs losses, and vice versa. The two sides offset each other, keeping the position stable in dollar terms while the protocol collects staking rewards and funding payments. The main risk is counterparty exposure: short positions exist on centralized exchanges, and historically, 48-50% of Ethena's exposure has been on Binance. The protocol maintains an insurance fund to absorb shocks, such as during negative funding rates. The company has also undergone a SOC 2 Type II audit.

The journey has not been easy. The volume of USDe peaked at around $15 billion, then sharply decreased after stresses in late 2025. In 2025, BaFin issued an order to wind down Ethena's German subsidiary. In 2026, the company secured a $1 billion credit line with FalconX, entered tokenized US equities through Binance bStocks, engaged in perpetual stock contracts with Binance in September 2026, and integrated into TRON. The USDe token incentives were set to expire by the end of September 2026. For institutional investors, documented controls are more important than an extra basis point of yield. The SOC 2 Type II audit and the $1 billion credit line speak to this. However, the concentration of half of the exchange exposure on Binance is a risk that a prudent investor will scrutinize, especially in light of the deepening partnership with the same exchange.