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.