Currently, the protocol mainly uses basis trading: it holds an asset and simultaneously opens a short position on its perpetual futures contract, profiting from positive funding rates. Previously, the strategy focused on BTC, ETH, and SOL.
However, the yield of crypto perpetual futures has noticeably declined. According to Ethena, the average funding rate for BTC has dropped from 11% in 2024 to 4.9% in 2025 and 2.2% in 2026.
The situation with equity perpetual futures is the opposite:
- The average funding rate on Hyperliquid in recent months has been around 14%;
- on Binance—about 17.5%;
- The median funding rate for equities reached 13.9%, compared to 3.9% for BTC.
Open interest in these instruments has grown since March from less than $1 billion to $6.2 billion.
Ethena believes that the equity market is better suited for this strategy: demand for leveraged long positions is more stable, and the yield of equity perpetual futures barely correlates with BTC funding rates.
The first exchange partners and the launch of Ethena’s new strategy are scheduled to be announced in the coming weeks. Over the next 12–24 months, the protocol expects perpetual futures on real assets to become a larger component of USDe’s collateral than crypto derivatives.