Ethena Clears XRP, HYPE For USDe Backing After Onboarding BNB

Ethena Labs has formally approved XRP and HYPE under its new Eligible Asset Framework. The metrics-driven approach, which recently onboarded BNB, mandates stringent liquidity and depth requirements for all assets backing USDe’s futures hedges.

According to an announcement on August 22, Ethena Labs’ independent Risk Committee has formally approved Ripple (XRP) and Hyperliquid (HYPE) tokens as eligible assets to back its USDe synthetic dollar.

The move follows the successful onboarding of Binance Coin (BNB) and is the first application of the protocol’s newly unveiled Eligible Asset Framework. Ethena Labs said the committee’s decision was based on a cold, hard analysis of quantitative data, with both assets clearing minimum thresholds for open interest, trading volume, and market depth across major exchanges.

To vet these assets, the committee relied on a rigorous data pipeline sourced primarily from the Coinglass Open API, with a cut-off date of August 16. This data spanned major centralized exchanges, including Binance, Bybit, and OKX, which serve as Ethena’s primary hedging venues.

The approval of XRP and HYPE was not a close call based on the published metrics. Both assets convincingly surpassed every minimum threshold. Each boasts a two-week average open interest well above the $1 billion benchmark, a critical measure that ensures Ethena’s trading team can establish large short positions without moving the market.

Additionally, their spot and perpetual trading volumes consistently exceeded $100 million daily, while their market depth, including the liquidity available within 1% of the current price, proved robust enough to handle significant trades without major slippage.

The committee also found that both assets cleared the 180-day minimum open interest hurdle of $300 million, demonstrating their market maturity and resilience even through periods of volatility, Ethena Labs said.

This data-centric approach also clearly delineated which assets did not make the cut. Despite their popularity and decent volatility profiles, both Sui (SUI) and Cardano (ADA) were rejected by the committee.