Stablecoin issuer Ethena and tokenization platform Securitize are vying for a spot in Spark’s $1 billion Tokenization Grand Prix, pitching Ethena’s upcoming stablecoin, USDtb. This high-profile competition is designed to distribute liquidity to onboarding partners and is part of Spark’s efforts to bolster its lending platform, which operates within the rebranded Sky ecosystem (formerly MakerDAO).
At the heart of Ethena’s proposal is a swap facility for USDtb and USDe, another Ethena-issued stablecoin. This mechanism aims to help the Sky ecosystem dynamically allocate resources between the two stablecoins based on prevailing interest rate trends.
USDtb stands out for its backing strategy, with more than 90% of its reserves set to be invested in BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), which has been tokenized by Securitize. Ethena asserts this backing ratio surpasses those of competing stablecoins, adding to its appeal.
Ethena already plays a significant role in the Sky ecosystem, contributing approximately $120 million in annual revenue—about 30% of the ecosystem’s total. The governance vote by Sky token holders will determine whether Ethena and Securitize’s ambitious pitch secures a share of the $1 billion liquidity pool.
This collaboration highlights the growing intersection of institutional finance, blockchain, and tokenization as stablecoins like USDtb push the boundaries of digital asset ecosystems.
