Ethena is undergoing its first large-scale expansion of 50%, and the USDe stablecoin "sister product" will debut.

Guy Young, co-founder of Ethena Labs, announced that the company will recruit about 10 new engineers, expanding the existing team of 20-25 people by 40%-50%. Ethena plans to launch two new products in the next three months. Currently, USDe is the third-largest stablecoin, and this expansion marks Ethena's first large-scale team expansion since its establishment.

Ethena Large-scale Expansion Recruitment Details

(Source: Ethena)

“Over the past two years, the number of contributors at Ethena has basically remained around 20-25,” Young said. “We have made a meaningful expansion of the team for the first time, adding 10 positions in engineering and product, responsible for two brand new business lines and products.” The new employees will expand the existing team (which consists of 10 to 15 employees) by 40% to 50%.

According to Ethena's recruitment page, the team is hiring a Security Manager, a Senior Backend Engineer, and several DeFi, Trading, and Security Engineers. Additionally, they are also looking for a Business Development Assistant and a Product Designer. This position structure indicates that Ethena's expansion focuses not only on technical development but also values security, business expansion, and user experience.

Ethena Recruitment Position Analysis:

Security Officer: Responsible for the overall security architecture, a key role that demonstrates a high level of emphasis on protocol security.

Senior Backend Engineer: Support large-scale transaction processing and system stability

DeFi Engineer: Develop integration with other protocols to expand USDe application scenarios

Trading Engineer: Optimize market making and liquidity management strategies

Security Engineer: Multiple layers of security protection, reflecting a commitment to fund safety.

Business Development Assistant: Expand institutional partnerships and market penetration

Product Designer: Enhance user experience, reduce the usage threshold.

This talent allocation shows that Ethena is transitioning from a technology-driven startup to a comprehensive financial infrastructure provider. The first large-scale expansion after maintaining a stable team size for two years indicates Ethena's confidence in new products and judgment of market timing.

USDe Achievements and Third Largest Stablecoin Status

Since the launch of USDe “synthetic dollar” a few years ago, Ethena has steadily expanded its product line. USDe adopts a unique “synthetic dollar” mechanism, achieving a relatively stable value by holding spot crypto assets and hedging in the derivatives market. This mechanism is fundamentally different from fiat-collateralized stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, providing a new paradigm of stablecoins for the market.

USDe is currently the third largest stablecoin, following USDT and USDC. This position is hard-earned, as the stablecoin market has long been dominated by Tether and Circle. Ethena has been able to break through this pattern, proving that its synthetic dollar mechanism has gained market recognition. The success of USDe has also attracted top institutional investors; in September, the proprietary investment division of M2 Capital, a digital asset group from the UAE, joined the existing list of supporters of Ethena Labs, which includes Dragonfly, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton.

This investor list is very persuasive. Fidelity and Franklin Templeton are traditional financial giants, and with the support of CEX exchanges, this combination shows that Ethena has crossed the boundaries between crypto and traditional finance. Dragonfly, as a professional crypto venture capital, further validates Ethena's technological strength and market potential.

In addition to USDe, Ethena has also launched USDtb, further enriching its product line. The specific mechanism of USDtb is different from that of USDe, providing users with more choices. This product matrix strategy allows Ethena to no longer rely on a single product, reducing the risk of business concentration.

The Potential and Speculations of Two Mysterious New Products

Young stated that these new products will enhance Ethena's existing stablecoin assets USDe and USDtb, which are expected to be launched in the next three months. “Both of these plans have the potential to reach the scale of USDe,” he added. This statement is highly ambitious, as USDe, being the third largest stablecoin, already has a considerable market capitalization. If the two new products can indeed reach a comparable scale, Ethena's total locked value and market influence will experience exponential growth.

Although Ethena has not yet disclosed specific details about its new product, possible directions can be inferred from the recruitment positions and existing product line. Firstly, the new product may involve more complex DeFi integrations, as multiple DeFi engineers have been recruited. Secondly, the recruitment of a security officer suggests that the new product may involve larger capital scales or more complex risk exposures. Thirdly, the role of business development assistant indicates that the new product may target institutional clients or require the establishment of new partnerships.

Possible product directions include: yield-optimized stablecoins, customized synthetic assets for specific use cases, or cross-chain liquidity solutions. Recently, Solana's major protocol Jupiter announced that it will launch the native stablecoin JupUSD using Ethena's whitelisting service, indicating that Ethena is becoming a stablecoin infrastructure provider, and new products may further strengthen this positioning.

Ethena Ecosystem Expansion and Strategic Significance

The collaboration between Jupiter and Ethena has significant strategic importance. Jupiter is the largest DEX aggregator in the Solana ecosystem, with a substantial user base and trading volume. JupUSD adopts Ethena's whitelist service, meaning that Ethena's technology and reputation have been recognized by the Solana ecosystem. This cross-ecosystem collaboration will bring broader application scenarios for USDe and future new products.

From a business model perspective, Ethena is transitioning from a pure stablecoin issuer to a stablecoin infrastructure provider. By offering whitelist services, technical support, and risk management frameworks to other protocols, this B2B model is more scalable than solely relying on proprietary products. This also explains why Ethena needs to expand its team, as supporting multiple partners requires additional engineering and business resources.

The participation of Fidelity and Franklin Templeton is particularly noteworthy. These two traditional financial giants manage assets in the trillions of dollars, and their investment in Ethena shows that institutional funds are seriously evaluating synthetic stablecoins as an asset allocation option. If Ethena's new products can attract institutional-level capital inflows, its growth will far exceed that driven by the retail market.

Market Impact and Investor Concerns

Ethena's expansion plan has significant implications for the stablecoin market. Firstly, it challenges the dual oligopoly of USDT and USDC, providing a more diversified choice for the market. Secondly, the success of the synthetic dollar mechanism may inspire more innovative stablecoin projects. Thirdly, Ethena's collaboration with traditional financial giants may accelerate institutional adoption of crypto stablecoins.

However, investors should also pay attention to potential risks. The synthetic dollar mechanism relies on derivatives hedging, which may face liquidity risks or hedging failures under extreme market conditions. In addition, changes in the regulatory environment may affect Ethena's operating model. The development of new products also carries technical risks and uncertainties regarding market acceptance.