PANews reported on December 16 that, according to an official blog, stablecoin issuer Ethena announced its public launch of a new stablecoin product called USDtb in collaboration with real-world asset tokenization company Securitize. The reserve funds of USDtb are invested in BlackRock's U.S. Dollar Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL).
USDtb shares similar characteristics with existing fiat-backed stablecoins (such as USDC or USDT), meaning it is backed by cash or cash equivalents on a 1:1 basis for each token. Users can transfer USDtb freely and without restrictions. By using BlackRock's BUIDL as its primary reserve asset, USDtb is able to scale without actual limitations, comprising the vast majority (90%) of total reserves, which is the highest BUIDL allocation among all stablecoins.
USDtb is a completely independent product from USDe, providing users and exchange partners with a new stablecoin option, with risk characteristics that are completely different from USDe. USDtb can also help USDe better cope with difficult market conditions. Ethena's risk committee approved a proposal last week to use USDtb as a supporting asset for USDe. During periods of negative funding rates, Ethena will be able to close the underlying hedging positions of USDe and reallocate its supporting assets to USDtb to further mitigate related risks.