Ethena is reportedly working on HyENA, a decentralized perpetual contract trading platform (DEX perp) built on Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 model, with USDe as the sole collateral. This alliance would combine Ethena’s stability with the power of the Hyperliquid engine, paving the way for a new generation of on-chain derivatives. This strategic collaboration could well mark a major turning point for DeFi in 2025.
Challenges for Ethena
This wouldn’t be the first collaboration for stablecoin provider Ethena, but this one could change everything. By relying on a relatively new product like HIP-3, the protocol would send a clear message: it has confidence in Hyperliquid and aims to become the platform’s number one perp.
Its stablecoin, USDe, could play a central role in the use of the future DEX perp. It is the most widely used stablecoin after USDC and USDT, making it a major player in the ecosystem. For the time being, it would be the only token accepted as collateral on HyENA.
Traders will need to buy or hold it to open or maintain a position. This mechanism will naturally increase its circulation and, consequently, its yield. It should be noted that USDe (and especially its staked version, sUSDe) generates a native yield of 4-6% thanks to Ethena’s delta-neutral strategy.
Traders thus receive a passive yield even when using it as collateral, which significantly optimizes capital efficiency and attracts liquidity.
That’s not all: according to some sources, Ethena receives a significant share of the trading fees on HyENA. We are talking about a percentage of around 50% of the DEX’s revenue. This revenue could feed into the yield of sENA (staked token), further strengthening its position as a major asset.
Challenges for Hyperliquid
While this collaboration marks a turning point for Ethena, it also represents a major strategic step for Hyperliquid. Until now, the protocol had mainly distinguished itself through its technical performance and liquidity, but it still lacked an external partner of reference to validate its HIP-3 model. With HyENA Trade, that is now a reality. HyENA becomes the first major implementation of the HIP-3 standard, a format that allows third-party teams to build their own derivative platforms using Hyperliquid’s engine. This is a “real-world” validation, much more powerful than any announcement or testnet.
From a more economic perspective, the stakes for Hyperliquid and its ecosystem are clearly not to be overlooked. With approximately $10 billion in USDe in circulation, part of this money supply could be redeployed on HyENA, directly fueling the volumes and market depth of the Hyperliquid engine.
By becoming the underlying engine of the protocol holding the third-largest stablecoin, Hyperliquid is gradually establishing itself against industry giants such as Bybit, Kraken, and perhaps even Coinbase and Binance. By combining execution speed, a user experience similar to that of a centralized platform, and an architecture that enables decentralization, it is gradually combining the qualities of CEXs and DEXs into a single product. By becoming a truly decentralized CEX, it now possesses, beyond technology, another essential quality: credibility. Thanks to the integration of Ethena, professional players now see USDe as high-quality collateral and Hyperliquid as a serious ecosystem, far from the image of an “airdrop farm” or fleeting experiments.
It should be noted that even though the track record is excellent, Ethena’s delta-neutral strategy carries significant risks, we are not immune to mismanagement, and cash flow remains somewhat unclear at times.
HyENA, the genesis of a product that could set the standard
Built on Hyperliquid’s CLOB (Central Limit Order Book), HyENA guarantees execution in less than 200 milliseconds, real market depth, and a user experience comparable to that of a CEX, while remaining entirely non-custodial and KYC-free. This proves that institutional trading can take place directly on-chain, without any compromise on performance.
Economically, the model could prove to be just as innovative: governance shared between ENA and HYPE would create an unprecedented alignment between the two protocols. ENA holders could capture value through the “fee switch” and growing demand for USDe, while HYPE stakers could benefit from HIP-3 revenue sharing and the rise of the Hyperliquid engine. Finally, thanks to HIP-3’s permissionless architecture, HyENA could evolve towards multi-asset products:
- Cryptos
- Indices
- Commodities
- Stocks
Each new market deployed would strengthen both Hyperliquid’s liquidity and Ethena’s ecosystem, creating a unique network effect. This deployment would therefore be much more than a simple launch; it would be a long-term model combining infrastructure, yield, and governance.
