Ethena CEO discusses USDe's shift to AAA-rated collateral

Guy: Guy Young, known online as @gdog97_, is the founder and CEO of Ethena Labs. In the featured interview, he explains the rationale for building Ethena Pay as a neobank to leverage USDe's yield capabilities and discusses the protocol's strategic evolution in collateral management and go-to-market approach across dozens of countries. USDe: USDe is Ethena's synthetic dollar stablecoin designed to maintain a stable value through a combination of crypto collateral and hedging strategies. In the context of this news, it is undergoing a multi-year transition in its reserve composition away from reliance on basis trades toward greater use of AAA-rated real-world asset lending. This shift is discussed as part of efforts to enhance stability and appeal for broader adoption. Ethena: Ethena is the protocol and company behind the USDe stablecoin, focused on providing yield-bearing dollar-denominated products in DeFi and expanding into consumer finance. It recently launched Ethena Pay, a self-custodial neobank application integrated with its own stablecoin to offer users everyday spending, savings, and transfers. The organization is also advancing operational standards, including completion of a SOC 2 Type II audit. EthenaPay: Ethena Pay is Ethena's self-custodial neobank application that allows users to hold, earn yield on, spend, and transfer balances using USDe while abstracting away direct blockchain interactions. Launched in beta on September 1, 2026, it operates exclusively on Avalanche for settlement and emphasizes yield and rewards over traditional loyalty programs to retain users. The app is rolling out in phases across nearly 50 countries with a focus on emerging markets initially. Backing Strategy: Ethena is actively diversifying USDe reserves toward AAA-rated real-world assets and lending arrangements to support long-term stability. Product Expansion: Ethena Pay integrates directly with USDe to deliver consumer-facing financial services, positioning the protocol as a vertically integrated issuer of both the stablecoin and the spending platform. Infrastructure Choice: Avalanche serves as the exclusive settlement layer for Ethena Pay due to its alignment with business-focused infrastructure and prior work in payments.