YZi Labs, the family office tied to former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, is expanding its stake in Ethena Labs as the USDe stablecoin crosses $14 billion in supply and solidifies its place in the digital dollar race.
Key Takeaways
- YZi Labs increased its investment in Ethena Labs, reaffirming its early support as USDe supply surpasses $14 billion.
- The new capital will fuel USDe integration, BNB Chain expansion, and the launch of new products including USDtb and Converge.
- Binance recently integrated USDe as a spot trading pair and collateral asset, bolstering adoption.
- Ethena now ranks as a top DeFi protocol, with record fee generation and over $14.14 billion in total value locked.
What Happened?
YZi Labs has officially deepened its backing of Ethena Labs, the creator of the fast-growing USDe synthetic dollar. The renewed investment comes at a crucial time, as Ethena prepares to scale its product lineup and expand USDe’s reach across major blockchain ecosystems. YZi was one of Ethena’s earliest institutional supporters and is now reinforcing that commitment with strategic capital and ecosystem support.
— YZi Labs (@yzilabs) September 19, 2025
YZi Labs Reinforces Confidence in Ethena’s Vision
On September 19, YZi Labs announced a significant expansion of its stake in Ethena Labs. The exact size of the new investment remains undisclosed, but its impact is already being felt across the DeFi landscape. The funds are earmarked for three main initiatives:
- Boosting USDe’s integration across centralized exchanges (CEXs) and decentralized protocols (DeFi)
- Accelerating USDe adoption and protocol expansion on BNB Chain
- Supporting the launch of USDtb, a fiat-backed stablecoin, and Converge, an institutional settlement layer
Ethena’s CEO Guy Young said the enhanced backing is key to realizing a long-held ambition: embedding stable, yield-bearing assets deep into the crypto economy. “We’re thrilled to deepen our partnership with YZi Labs, a long-standing and strategic backer,” Young said. “The holy grail of digital dollar distribution has always been embedding stable, yield-bearing assets directly into the core of the crypto economy.”
Binance and BNB Chain Key to Strategic Expansion
The timing of YZi’s renewed support aligns with Binance’s growing role in USDe adoption. Earlier this month, Binance added USDe as both a spot trading pair and a collateral asset for derivatives. Ethena’s growing presence on BNB Chain also reflects a broader push to support money markets, liquidity pools, and DeFi integrations that enable wider stablecoin usage.
Initially launched on Ethereum, USDe has now expanded to BNB Chain, where it joins other DeFi protocols in growing user activity. Ethena’s synthetic dollar has benefited from Binance’s infrastructure, helping it become the third-largest stablecoin by market cap, trailing only USDT and USDC.
Product Launches and Institutional Partnerships
Ethena Labs is preparing to launch USDtb, a fiat-backed stablecoin that aims to comply with the GENIUS Act, a new regulatory framework for the US stablecoin market. The USDtb stablecoin will be backed by BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, giving it a strong institutional underpinning.
Additionally, Ethena is co-developing Converge, an EVM-based settlement layer built in partnership with Securitize and BlackRock tokenization partners. Converge is designed to bring traditional finance-grade assets (RWAs) on-chain and offer a more robust and scalable financial infrastructure for institutions.
Ethena Surges in DeFi Metrics
The growth in YZi Labs’ investment corresponds with Ethena reaching several performance milestones:
- Over $14.14 billion in total value locked (TVL)
- More than 6.09 billion USDe staked, offering yields up to 20 percent
- Over $13.34 million in daily protocol fees, surpassing major players like Circle and Pump.fun
- Annualized revenue estimated at $31.2 million, with total protocol fees nearing $900 million
Ethena also holds the distinction of being the most active fee-generating protocol, with only Tether ranking higher in daily earnings. Despite market volatility and a relatively calm performance by the ENA token, these metrics point to strong underlying fundamentals.
CoinLaw’s Takeaway
In my experience, when a powerhouse like YZi Labs doubles down on a project, it is rarely about short-term gains. What I found most striking here is not just the dollar value of the investment, but the layered strategy: USDe expansion, new stablecoins, regulatory compliance, and institutional-grade infrastructure. Ethena is not just chasing DeFi trends, it is setting them. With backing from the likes of Binance, BlackRock, and Securitize, it is safe to say this is no ordinary stablecoin ecosystem. This could be the blueprint for how crypto-native assets and traditional finance finally converge.
