Standard Chartered Sees Ethena's USDe Surging to $40 Billion by 2028

Standard Chartered, a British multinational bank, has forecasted that Ethena's USDe stablecoin supply will grow to $40 billion by the end of 2028. This growth is expected to be driven by the expansion of Ethena into DeFi and institutional lending, real-world assets, and basis trades tied to equities and commodities.

The bank also initiated coverage of Ethena's ENA token, setting a year-end price target of $2 for 2028. This implies that ENA will outperform Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), with Standard Chartered expecting BTC to reach $300,000 and ETH to reach $18,000 by the end of 2028.

The link between USDe growth and ENA buybacks is central to Standard Chartered's valuation case for the token. A fee switch approved by Ethena governance in early September directs 95% of net revenue from its business lines toward ENA buybacks once USDe reaches specified supply milestones. At $25 billion in USDe supply, Ethena estimates that this mechanism could generate $375 million in annual ENA buybacks.