Coinbase Ventures buys ENA, partners with Ethena

Coinbase Ventures bought ENA tokens on the open market and announced a partnership with Ethena. The firms said the agreement will add Ethena’s USDe savings products to Coinbase’s more than 100 million users. ENA rose about 10% to $0.09 after the announcement.

The purchase and partnership were disclosed this week. The first joint growth initiative is scheduled to launch next week. Coinbase said the collaboration will bring simplified on-chain savings and finance tools into its ecosystem and noted plans to explore deeper integration between Ethena’s synthetic dollar and USDC.

Ethena runs a synthetic dollar protocol built around USDe, a crypto-native stablecoin that generates yield through delta-neutral hedging strategies. Users can stake into sUSDe to earn variable returns that have historically included funding-rate income and other yield sources, with past averages reaching double-digit annual returns.

Delta-neutral hedging is designed to capture funding payments and other income streams while limiting exposure to market price moves. Ethena converts those returns into payouts for sUSDe stakers rather than relying solely on lending markets or centralized custody products.

Coinbase Ventures described Ethena as ‘a critical player in onchain finance’ and expressed interest in deeper USDC integration. The firm bought ENA on the open market instead of taking a discounted venture allocation with lockup terms.

With Coinbase’s regulated infrastructure and its large user base, USDe and sUSDe could be offered inside the Coinbase app and Wallet as savings options for retail and institutional customers. Market participants are awaiting details about next week’s initiative and any technical or product integrations that would bring Ethena’s assets onto Coinbase rails.