Standard Chartered Sees Ethena’s USDe Supply Reaching $40 Billion by 2028, Starts ENA at $2 Target
Standard Chartered projects that Ethena’s stablecoin USDe will expand eightfold from current levels to reach $40 billion by the end of 2028.Cointelegraph reported on October 30 that the bank, in a recent report, initiated coverage of Ethena’s native token ENA and set a price target of $2 for the end of 2028. That is roughly seven times the $0.28 price at the time the report was written.Standard Chartered expects USDe to grow slightly faster than the broader stablecoin market over the same period. It also forecasts Bitcoin will reach $300,000 and Ether $18,000 by the end of 2028, suggesting ENA would post larger gains than either asset.The bank cited revenue diversification as a key driver of USDe’s growth. As returns from Ethena’s core basis-trade strategy of holding spot crypto while taking short positions in perpetual futures have declined, the protocol has expanded into decentralized finance, institutional lending, real-world assets and basis trades tied to equities and commodities. The blended yield across those revenue streams is currently about 5.2%.Standard Chartered projects the tokenized-asset market will grow from about $350 billion at present to $4 trillion by the end of 2028. As that market expands, Ethena may be able to draw on a broader set of assets to generate returns.ENA buybacks linked to USDe supply growth were another key pillar of the bank’s price outlook. In early September, Ethena approved through governance a "fee switch" that would direct 95% of net income from business operations to ENA buybacks once USDe supply reaches predetermined thresholds. Ethena estimates that if USDe supply rises to $25 billion, annual ENA buybacks could reach $375 million, assuming a 6% protocol gross yield and a 25% net margin.Standard Chartered said that if USDe supply reaches the projected $40 billion and ENA remains at current price levels, annual buybacks could amount to about 23% of ENA’s circulating market capitalization. It said that level would be difficult to sustain, and that as ENA rises, buybacks would account for a smaller share of market value.ENA traded at about $0.27 as of October 30. It has risen about 28% over the past week and 77% over the past month. Its market capitalization was about $2.65 billion.