Ethena Enters Equity Perpetual Futures Market with Yield-Generating Strategy

Ethena, the protocol behind the synthetic dollar token USDe, is expanding its yield-generating strategy into equity perpetual futures.

The move comes after equity markets grew tenfold since March and now offer funding rates several times higher than those in crypto.

Ethena's basis trade works by holding a spot asset, selling its perpetual futures contract, and collecting the funding premium that leveraged long traders pay to maintain their positions.

This strategy has been applied across various markets with liquid spot assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. However, equity perpetuals only became viable for this strategy in December 2025, when Hyperliquid listed the first contracts.