Coinbase Prime Chosen by Ethena for Custody and Wallet Services

• Ethena selects Coinbase Prime for custody, USDC, and self-custodial wallet services to enhance its protocol.
• Ethena integrates the Coinbase Prime Web3 Wallet to streamline minting and redemption processes within its Ethereum-based protocol.

Ethena, known as the first on-chain synthetic dollar mechanism based on Ethereum, has chosen Coinbase Prime to handle critical portions of its operations.

In this agreement, Coinbase Prime will provide custody services, USDC access, and self-custodial wallet solutions for Ethena’s protocol. This agreement is expected to improve Ethena’s operational efficiency, notably in the minting and redeeming procedures.

The Ethena Foundation and @ethena_labs – the teams behind the first onchain synthetic dollar protocol built on Ethereum – select Coinbase Prime to provide custody and self-custodial wallet services for their protocol via a multi-product agreement. https://t.co/3yciAAlZJj pic.twitter.com/gTBYbEjRxC

— Coinbase Institutional (@CoinbaseInsto) August 22, 2024

Coinbase Chosen as Primary Custodian for ENA Tokens 

One of the most important aspects of this connection is the custody of ENA tokens. Coinbase will serve as the principal custodian for the tokens, highlighting Coinbase Custody’s reputation as the largest and most secure crypto custodian in the market.

Coinbase Custody provides an institutional-grade solution to Ethena Labs, its core staff, and the Ethena Foundation, ensuring the highest level of asset security.

This decision indicates Ethena’s trust in Coinbase’s capacity to protect its tokens, which was decided after extensive due diligence and evaluation of potential alternatives.

Furthermore, Ethena will incorporate the Coinbase Prime Web3 Wallet into its protocol. This wallet is more than simply a tool for accessing cryptocurrency and decentralized applications (dapps); it is also a critical component of Ethena’s operational processes.

The Prime Web3 Wallet has a smooth interface and powerful reporting tools, all of which are fully linked with Coinbase Prime. By adding this wallet to its minting and redeeming operations, Ethena hopes to streamline its infrastructure, making it more efficient and user-friendly.

In addition to these services, Ethena plans to increase the use of USDC within its protocol. By implementing USDC, Ethena intends to improve the backing of its synthetic dollar, assuring greater stability and scalability within its ecosystem. This move reflects Ethena’s strategic strategy of utilizing stablecoins to improve protocol performance.

Ethena chose Coinbase as a partner because it symbolizes innovation, rigorous risk management, and established reliability in the cryptocurrency market.

Ethena’s choice of Coinbase as its primary custodian reflects Coinbase’s industry reputation and dedication to offering secure, innovative solutions to its partners. Guy Young, CEO and founder of Ethena Labs, stated:

“We’re thrilled to work with one of the preeminent brokerage platforms and most secure custodians in our industry. Coinbase’s outstanding track record of consistently providing best-in-class, institution-grade products made this a no-brainer for us.”

On the other hand, according to a prior CNF report, Drift Protocol has teamed up with Ethena Labs to launch USDe and sUSDe as yield-generating collateral on the Solana blockchain. This partnership is projected to dramatically improve scalability, potentially generating $2–3 billion in open interest in Solana.

Furthermore, Ethena’s relationship with Bybit offers up to 20% APR on USDe collateral, as well as fee-free trading and daily prizes.

Meanwhile, Ethena’s native token, ENA, has increased significantly in value. It is currently trading at $0.3619, up 17.55% over the last 24 hours and 20.74% for the last week. ENA’s market cap today stands at around $653.86 million.