{
  "id": 11030179,
  "title": "Standard Chartered sees Ethena’s USDe reaching $40B, ENA hitting $2",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/standard-chartered-sees-ethenas-usde-reaching-40b-ena-hitting-2",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-30T20:57:32.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Cointelegraph",
    "slug": "cointelegraph",
    "url": "https://cointelegraph.com/markets/standard-chartered-ethena-usde-growth-40b"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Standard Chartered anticipates Ethena's USDe stablecoin supply to expand eightfold to $40 billion by the end of 2028, as the protocol broadens its yield sources beyond crypto markets. In a research report shared with Cointelegraph, the bank initiated coverage of Ethena's ENA token with a price target of $2 by the year's end, seven times its current $0.28 valuation. Standard Chartered also projects USDe to outpace overall stablecoin market growth and outperform Bitcoin and Ether by the same period. The bank's forecasts suggest Bitcoin could reach $300,000 and Ether $18,000 by year-end. Standard Chartered attributes declining returns from USDe's former crypto basis trade to Ethena's pivot towards DeFi, institutional lending, real-world assets, and equity/commodity-linked basis trades. These new sources generate a blended yield of 5.2%, offering USDe room to scale further. The bank projects the tokenized assets market to grow from $350 billion to $4 trillion by 2028, expanding Ethena's asset pool for yield generation. ENA buybacks are tied to USDe's supply growth, with a 95% net revenue allocation to buybacks once USDe reaches specific supply milestones. At a $25 billion USDe supply, annual buybacks could total $375 million, assuming a 6% yield and 25% net revenue take rate. If USDe reaches $40 billion and ENA's price remains stable, buybacks could account for 23% of ENA's circulating market cap, a rate the bank deems unsustainable and anticipates ENA's price rising to balance. At $0.27 on Wednesday, ENA has seen a 28% week-over-week surge and a 77% month-over-month increase, with a market cap of $2.65 billion.",
  "summary": "The bank also expects Ethena’s ENA token to rise roughly sevenfold to $2 by the end of 2028 as USDe scales and token buybacks increase.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Fortune",
        "title": "‘No way’ the yuan challenges the U.S. dollar—though the yen and the pound may have more to fear, says Standard Chartered’s China CEO",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/no-way-the-yuan-challenges-the-u-s-dollar-though-the-yen-and-the",
        "published": "2026-09-30T07:50:53.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}