FalconX, Ethena bring USDe backing assets into $1B institutional credit facility

FalconX and Ethena have launched a $1 billion secured lending facility that will use assets backing USDe to fund overcollateralized loans to institutional borrowers.The facility is structured through a special purpose vehicle, with FalconX originating and servicing the loans and managing collateral. Assets securing the loans will be held at qualified custodians, while the facility gives Ethena access to institutional lending as an additional source of returns on the assets backing USDe beyond the crypto basis strategies it has traditionally used.FalconX said the facility can support financing for institutional trading strategies, corporate treasury management and payments. The companies did not disclose the facility’s expected returns, loan terms, borrowers or how much capital has initially been deployed.The agreement expands an existing relationship between the two firms, with FalconX already supporting USDe across its institutional trading and financing services.USDe, Ethena’s dollar-pegged synthetic asset, has a market capitalization of about $4 billion, according to DefiLlama data. Unlike fiat-backed stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, USDe was designed to maintain its dollar peg using crypto collateral paired with short derivatives positions, with returns generated in part through funding rates and basis spreads.Top five stablecoins by market cap. Source: DefiLlama