Earn Yield with USDe on Solana via Drift and Ethena Labs Partnership

• Drift Protocol partners with Ethena Labs to introduce USDe and sUSDe as yield-bearing collateral on Solana.
• SOL-backed USDe enhances scalability, opening up $2–3 billion in additional open interest on Solana.

Drift Protocol has made an announcement on Twitter, unveiling a new cooperation with Ethena Labs to improve the trading experience on the Solana blockchain. This partnership adds two essential assets, USDe and sUSDe, as perpetual trading collateral on Solana, allowing traders to earn native income while participating in perpetual contracts.

The integration of Ethena Labs into the Solana ecosystem enables users to trade and store their native USDe token, resulting in Ethena’s native benefits, making this a profitable arrangement for Solana users.

Drift partners with @ethena_labs to bring USDe and sUSDe as perpetual trading collateral on Solana!

Earn up to 12% NATIVE yield while you trade perps

What does this mean for Solana? pic.twitter.com/2BvkanW0Yw

— Drift Protocol (@DriftProtocol) August 7, 2024

Ethena Integration of SOL with USDe Elevates Scalability and Yield Potential on Drift

The decision to employ SOL as a supporting asset for USDe is also notable because it has the potential to generate an extra $2–3 billion in open interest. This increase in open interest is a critical step in improving USDe’s scalability, establishing it as a more stable and trustworthy asset in the Solana ecosystem.

The cooperation also emphasizes the utility of USDe and sUSDe as yield-bearing collaterals on Drift, allowing users to earn yields automatically while using these assets as margin for everlasting contracts.

For example, USDe collateral yields approximately 4.8%, whereas sUSDe yields around 12%. This design not only optimizes traders potential returns, but also allows them to borrow and lend on Drift, boosting the asset’s adaptability.

Furthermore, the longer a trader holds onto these assets, the greater the benefits in the form of Sats, Ethena’s natural awards. Specifically, holding USDe earns users 20 Sats each day, whereas sUSDe earns 5 Sats per day.

This incentive system encourages traders to hold their holdings over time, boosting their overall profit. Ethena Labs has also provided a website for users to track their points, and subsequent Drift deposits will soon be rewarded with Fuel, creating an extra layer of motivation for traders.

On the other hand, according to CNF, Ethena Labs has partnered with Bybit to offer up to 20% APR on USDe collateral. This combination with Bybit allows for fee-free trading and daily rewards, making it a viable alternative for both traders and investors.

Furthermore, as we previously reported, Lyra Finance has teamed with Ethena Labs to provide leveraged ETH exposure without the initial capital risk. Ethena Labs USDe stablecoin adds utility thanks to connections with Cloudbet and Bybit.

Meanwhile, the Ethena Labs native token, ENA, is also gaining traction. As of the time of writing, ENA is trading at around $0.3399, up 7.62% over the last 24 hours on a daily trading volume of $48.86 million.