Etena Labs USD starts at 20% APR on Baybit as a margin bond
Etena Labs Artificial Dollar will start by accepting the USDe token as collateral on the ByBit currency.
The new integration USDe will start offering traders an annual percentage rate (APR) of up to 20% as a margin deposit.
For traders on Baybit, this introduces greater efficiency and flexibility in their trading strategies, said Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Baybit. Zhou told Cointelegraph:
“Using USDe, traders can benefit from a unique combination of stable and potential yields as they control their collateral. For Baybit users, this means access to a variety of stablecoin options, including a crypto-native solution like USDe.”
The new integration will allow ByBit users to earn rewards for their holdings, said Guy Yang, founder of Athena Labs. The young man told Cointelegraph:
“When users trade with ByBit, they can get first-time rewards and value on guarantees. This can be used to offset cash costs on site and capture more value for users.”
Athena Labs is one of the most popular protocols in 2024. Etena could be the highest-grossing crypto project on the market, according to forecasts by Jose Maria Macedo, CEO of Delphi Labs and founding partner of crypto investment company Delphi Ventures.
Related: Athena Labs Founder Explains USD Stability Amid High Yield Stress
Etena Labs' US dollar production is a demonstration of the “strength” of the protocol: Baybit CEO
Athena's US dollar synthetic dollar launched in February with a 27.6% API, causing widespread concern among crypto investors. The API was higher than the 20% yield offered on Terra UST by Anchor Protocol before the May 2022 collapse of algorithmically stable coin issuer Terra.
However, Synthetic Dollar has managed to generate a high yield of more than 12.3 percent for more than 262,000 users, according to its homepage.
According to Baibit's Zhou, this strong production is another proof of the strength of the protocol:
“Despite initial concerns, Athena's ability to generate high yields on USD is a testament to the strength of their protocol. This achievement is particularly impressive given the challenging market environment.
Related: Hong Kong's Largest Online Broker Launches Bitcoin and Ether Trading for 22 Million Users
Will the US dollar in TVL exceed $4 billion following the Baybit merger?
Athena's US dollar total value locked (TVL) is valued at more than $3.2 billion, five months after launch. TVL is down more than 10.9% over the past month, according to DeFillama.
While TVL's $4 billion mark is still a long way off, the use cases introduced by the new merger could increase artificial dollar growth, Etena Labs' Young said:
“We hope this partnership will lead to wider adoption and use of USDE across a variety of utility boxes and the potential for dollar exchange is multi-billion so we hope to play an important role in that.”
Etena Labs USD product is officially certified. Yang told Cointelegraph that artificial dollar production is generated by stock returns and shorting of Ether perpetual futures contracts.
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