Coinbase Ventures has made a notable move by purchasing ENA tokens directly from the open market, marking a shift away from its typical private investment rounds. This acquisition coincides with a broader partnership between Coinbase and Ethena, aimed at developing on-chain finance and savings solutions for Coinbase’s extensive user base.
Ethena revealed the investment via an official social media post, emphasizing that Coinbase Ventures acquired ENA without the benefit of a discounted private sale. The two entities have also agreed to collaborate on products tailored for Coinbase users, with the first initiative slated for launch in the coming week.
Coinbase Ventures confirmed the purchase in a separate statement, highlighting Ethena’s pivotal role in the on-chain finance ecosystem. The venture arm underscored the potential for deeper integration between Ethena, Coinbase, and USDC, signaling a strategic alignment.
The investment method is a departure from Coinbase Ventures’ usual approach. Since its inception in 2018, the firm has executed over 600 investments, primarily in seed and early-stage private rounds. By opting for an open-market purchase, Coinbase Ventures is taking a public position in ENA, though the exact number of tokens, purchase price, and associated wallet addresses remain undisclosed.
Ethena’s partnership with Coinbase targets the latter’s vast user pool, exceeding 100 million verified accounts. The collaboration is expected to spotlight Ethena’s flagship products: USDe, a synthetic dollar asset, and sUSDe, a staked version designed to generate yield. Coinbase, which reported $294 billion in platform assets at the end of the first quarter, has not specified whether the upcoming product launch will involve USDe, sUSDe, ENA, or an entirely new offering.
Ethena’s financial metrics remain strong, with DefiLlama data indicating approximately $5.4 billion in total value locked. The USDe contract alone accounts for $4.5 billion of that total. The protocol is generating $178 million in annualized fees, with cumulative fees reaching $972 million and cumulative protocol revenue hitting $332 million since its founding in 2023.
ENA, the governance token, currently holds a market capitalization of around $859 million and a fully diluted valuation of about $1.4 billion. Following the announcement, ENA experienced an 8.3% price increase within 24 hours, accompanied by $168 million in trading volume, according to DefiLlama. On-chain volume via Uniswap V3 and Aerodrome reached $178 million during the same period, surpassing centralized exchange activity.
Ethena and Coinbase have not released additional details about the upcoming product, though Coinbase already serves as the primary custodian for ENA held by the Ethena Labs core team and Foundation under a prior agreement.