Ethena experienced its largest network growth in over three months on May 12, driven by a surge in newly created wallets and increased whale activity. This growth coincided with Grayscale Investments adding ENA to its DeFi Fund with a 13.59% allocation, signaling heightened institutional interest. Additionally, a $310 million USDC transfer and developments like the suspension of a LayerZero bridge have intensified focus on Ethena.
Grayscale DeFi Fund Adds ENA, Accelerating Institutional Adoption
Grayscale announced on May 12 that its DeFi Fund has added ENA as a new component asset with an initial weight of 13.59%. This move underscores Grayscale's ongoing commitment to the decentralized finance sector and its recognition of Ethena's synthetic dollar issuer status. The ENA token experienced short-term price fluctuations following the announcement but remained broadly stable.
Bitwise Partners with Jupiter to Launch Institutional Lending Market on Solana
In another key development, Ethena's stablecoin USDe will be integrated into a new institutional lending market on Solana-based DEX aggregator Jupiter, in collaboration with Bitwise Asset Management and Fluid. This marks the first instance of a traditional asset manager curating a lending market on the Jupiter Lend platform, aligning with Bitwise's long-term strategy for on-chain finance and DeFi adoption.
The lending market will allow institutional clients to deposit and borrow USDe and other assets on the Solana network, providing a compliant and efficient on-chain lending channel for institutional capital. Bitwise stated that this initiative aims to bridge traditional finance with DeFi, laying the groundwork for larger capital inflows in the future.
Network Growth and On-Chain Activity Surge Simultaneously
On-chain data shows that on May 12, the number of new wallets on Ethena's network surged significantly, with daily transaction counts and active addresses hitting three-month highs. Whale address transfers also became notably active, with one $310 million USDC transfer flagged by on-chain tracking tools, likely linked to institutional capital entry. Additionally, Ethena's previous suspension of the LayerZero bridge, intended to optimize the current architecture and prepare for subsequent upgrades, has kept the market in wait-and-see mode.
Overall, Ethena has made significant progress in institutional adoption: securing endorsement from the Grayscale fund and opening the Solana on-chain lending market via Bitwise and Jupiter, which is expected to further expand USDe's adoption scenarios. As traditional asset managers gradually venture into decentralized finance, Ethena's ecosystem foundation is becoming increasingly robust.