Ethena Selects Centrifuge as Strategic Tokenization Partner to Accelerate Institutional RWA Adoption

ZURICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ethena, the creator of USDe, one of the fastest-growing digital dollar ecosystems, today announced that it has selected Centrifuge as a strategic tokenization partner after an in-depth RWA RFP process, diversifying collateral holdings for the first time in its history.

The allocation marks a key step forward in Ethena’s broader strategy to diversify its collateral and backing asset framework with institutional-grade real-world assets. By selecting Centrifuge, Ethena is partnering with one of the leading platforms for bringing regulated, asset-manager-led financial products onchain.

“Expanding USDe’s backing to other institutional-grade strategies beyond basis has been a key goal of ours since the start of 2026,” said Guy Young, Founder of Ethena. “A key step in this effort has been to introduce low-duration, lower-risk RWAs to USDe’s backing. We’re excited to work together with Centrifuge and Janus Henderson to bring high-quality financial assets onchain with the inclusion of JAAA within USDe’s backing.”

Ethena is allocating capital to JAAA, the tokenized Janus Henderson Anemoy AAA CLO ETF built onchain by Centrifuge and Janus Henderson. The strategy has emerged as one of the fastest-growing tokenized fixed income products in the market, bringing institutional-grade credit onchain while maintaining the transparency, programmability, and composability enabled by blockchain infrastructure.

“Tokenization is no longer just about bringing assets onchain. The next phase is enabling those assets to power entirely new financial products and ecosystems,” said Bhaji Illuminati, CEO of Centrifuge. “Our role is to make the highest-quality financial products accessible to the builders creating the future of finance. Ethena has consistently pushed the industry forward through product innovation, and we’re excited to support their growing real-world asset strategy.”

The partnership reflects the continued evolution of Janus Henderson’s blockchain strategy with Centrifuge, which has expanded from exploration and experimentation to powering some of the largest institutional use cases in digital assets.

“The future of finance is programmable, unlocking real value from assets that are today constrained by legacy systems,” said Nick Cherney, Head of Innovation at Janus Henderson Investors. “Janus Henderson is committed to partnering with leading companies that are actually building the future today. Ethena is rethinking what stablecoins can deliver in DeFi markets, and Centrifuge is pioneering the world's most sophisticated tokenization infrastructure. This partnership will continue to extend our leadership as a provider of tokenized assets to the world's leading protocols.”

The partnership builds on growing momentum across the tokenized asset market as institutions increasingly seek blockchain-native infrastructure that can support transparency, efficiency, and global accessibility while maintaining the standards and protections expected in traditional finance. As tokenized assets continue their rapid growth, leading companies are increasingly looking to RWAs as a foundation for scalable, transparent, and yield-generating financial products.

With Centrifuge serving as one of Ethena’s strategic tokenization partners, both organizations expect to continue exploring additional opportunities to expand the role of real-world assets within the USDe ecosystem.