Written by Eric, Foresight News

On June 9, 2026, stablecoin protocol Ethena announced a strategic partnership with Janus Henderson. Janus Henderson, a global asset management giant managing approximately $480 billion in assets, not only acquired Ethena's governance token ENA through its blockchain investment platform ANTIK, but also incorporated USDe into its treasury cash management tools and plans to distribute USDe to its institutional clients through exchange-traded products (ETPs). Simultaneously, Ethena included Janus Henderson's AAA-rated CLO fund JAAA in USDe's reserve asset portfolio.

This is not a simple financial investment, but a complete closed loop encompassing asset supply, tokenization infrastructure, on-chain distribution, and compliant product development. It marks Ethena's formal entry from a DeFi native protocol into the core of traditional finance; it also signifies that Wall Street giants are proactively embedding themselves into the stablecoin ecosystem with a somewhat anxious attitude.

From Delta neutral to "a little bit of everything"

Ethena initially gained fame with its Delta-neutral stablecoin, USDe. Its mechanism is not complex: users deposit ETH or BTC as collateral, and the protocol opens an equivalent short position in perpetual futures on a centralized exchange. The spot long position and the futures short position hedge against each other, maintaining a relatively stable portfolio net value regardless of market fluctuations. Simultaneously, the collateralized returns and the funding fees from the perpetual contracts combine to provide sUSDe (the collateralized version of USDe) with a yield significantly higher than traditional wealth management products.

This model expanded rapidly during the 2024 bull market, with USDe's market capitalization once exceeding $9 billion, becoming the third largest stablecoin after USDT and USDC. However, the inherent flaws of the Delta-neutral strategy were quickly exposed: its yield was highly dependent on the funding rate of perpetual contracts. During bull markets, bullish enthusiasm drove up funding rates; once the market turned bearish or entered a period of volatility, funding rates turned negative, and the entire yield engine stalled. In the market crash of October 2025, USDe's market capitalization evaporated by 60%, and the price of the ENA token plummeted by as much as 83%.

The crisis forced a transformation. Ethena's first reaction was to launch USDtb, which is more similar to traditional stablecoins. 90% of its reserves are invested in BlackRock's BUIDL tokenized money market fund, which invests in short-term, highly liquid assets such as US Treasury bonds and repurchase agreements. USDtb's yield is much lower than sUSDe, but it provides a safe haven mechanism in an environment of negative funding rates.

A more significant step occurred in April 2026. Ethena undertook its largest-ever restructuring of USDe's collateral structure: the proportion of perpetual contract positions was drastically reduced to just around 20%, replaced by stablecoin reserves, DeFi lending exposure, CLOs (collateralized loan obligations), investment-grade corporate bond funds, and short-term credit assets. Founder Guy Young explicitly stated that expanding USDe's reserve base to include institutional-grade traditional assets has been a core strategic objective since the beginning of 2026.

Thus, USDe has completed its transformation from a "pure Delta-neutral cryptocurrency synthesizer" to a "hybrid RWA-collateralized stablecoin." It is no longer a purely on-chain entity, but a "jack-of-all-trades" financial instrument that simultaneously embraces government bonds, corporate credit, and CLOs.

The Deep Logic of Quadruple Cooperation

The collaboration with Janus Henderson is a natural extension of this transformational approach and represents the most institutionalized move to date. The framework for this collaboration comprises four levels:

The first layer involves the interoperability of reserve assets. Ethena allocates capital to Janus Henderson's JAAA fund—an AAA-rated CLO product—and after on-chain tokenization via Centrifuge, it is incorporated into USDe's reserves. This means that USDe's collateral has expanded from government bonds and cryptocurrencies to corporate lending for the first time, further diversifying its revenue sources.

The second layer is strategic investment. Janus Henderson acquired ENA tokens through ANTIK. This is not a traditional equity subscription, but a direct acquisition of governance rights in DeFi protocols—by holding governance tokens, traditional asset management institutions can participate in adjusting protocol parameters, electing risk committees, and voting on reserve strategies. BlackRock previously invested in UNI tokens, and Apollo Global Management also holds Morpho's governance tokens. This model is becoming the standard paradigm for traditional finance to "participate in DeFi."

The third layer is treasury cash management. Janus Henderson's inclusion of sUSDe in its cash management tool signifies that this $480 billion asset management giant is willing to expose a portion of its operating funds to Ethena's yield model. This is of great significance for USDe's credit endorsement—when an asset management company uses its own balance sheet to enhance the credibility of a stablecoin, it conveys not only recognition of the yield but also trust in the protocol's risk control and compliance structure.

The fourth and most forward-looking layer involves the joint development of ETP products. The two parties plan to launch exchange-traded products for USDe and ENA in the second half of 2026, packaging stablecoins and governance tokens into securities that can be legally purchased by traditional financial institution clients. This means Janus Henderson is not only using USDe, but also helping Ethena sell USDe: transforming from an asset supplier into a distribution channel.

With four layers stacked on top of each other, Janus Henderson simultaneously plays the roles of investor, user, asset provider, and distributor. This is unprecedented in the history of collaboration between traditional finance and DeFi.

Why is Wall Street "lowering its standards"?

This leads to the core question of the article: Why would a Wall Street giant like Janus Henderson be willing to lower himself and become a distribution channel for a stablecoin protocol?

The answer lies within a larger structural anxiety.

In July 2025, the U.S. GENIUS Act was officially signed into law, marking the first comprehensive federal regulatory framework for stablecoin payments. The Act requires stablecoin issuers to hold 100% highly liquid reserves (cash, Treasury securities, or repurchase agreements), accept regulation from the OCC and the Federal Reserve, and regularly disclose proof of reserves. The core effect of the Act is to eliminate "regulatory arbitrage" opportunities in the stablecoin industry, while also providing traditional financial institutions with a clear entry ticket.

With clearer regulations, the competition in the stablecoin market has shifted from "who can circumvent the rules" to "who can build the largest distribution network within the rules." And the participants in this arena are no longer limited to crypto-native companies. PayPal's PYUSD grew by 753% in 2025; Western Union plans to issue its own stablecoin on Solana; and institutions such as Deutsche Bank and Société Générale are actively investing in this area. BlackRock's BUIDL fund has become the underlying reserve asset for multiple stablecoins, from Ethena's USDtb to Frax's frxUSD, and Jupiter's JupUSD.

For traditional asset management firms like Janus Henderson, the anxiety stems from three levels:

First, there is the strategic pressure of "tokenization or being tokenized." BlackRock has demonstrated through BUIDL that the world's largest asset management companies can fully tokenize the assets they manage and make them the infrastructure of the DeFi ecosystem. If traditional asset management companies do not actively participate in this process, their assets will be "encapsulated" and distributed by other tokenization platforms, leaving them only as passive asset providers and losing control over the channels.

Secondly, there is pressure on yields. During a period of declining US dollar interest rates, the attractiveness of traditional fixed-income products decreases, while products like sUSDe, even after transformation, still offer higher yields than money market funds and short-term Treasury bonds. For asset management companies, accessing these products is not only about optimizing their own treasury management returns, but also about retaining yield-sensitive institutional clients.

The most fundamental anxiety lies in access control. Stablecoins are becoming the settlement layer of the global digital economy: in 2024, the annual transaction volume on the stablecoin chain reached $27.6 trillion, surpassing Visa's $14 trillion. In this new system, whoever controls the issuance and distribution of stablecoins controls the entry point for funds. Traditional financial institutions are well aware of this: if they do not participate in the distribution of stablecoins, technology companies, payment platforms, and crypto-native protocols will bypass them and establish direct connections with end users.

Janus Henderson's partnership with Ethena is essentially a strategic retreat. It acknowledges its weaknesses in on-chain infrastructure and protocol innovation, instead leveraging its regulatory licenses, customer network, and brand reputation to secure a place in the emerging stablecoin system. By becoming a distribution channel for USDe, it not only shares in the growth of the stablecoin market but also ensures its inclusion in the next generation of financial infrastructure.

Conclusion

Ethena's transformation story is, to some extent, a microcosm of the entire DeFi industry. From initially championing "decentralization, censorship resistance, and independence from traditional banks," to actively embracing BlackRock's BUIDL, Janus Henderson's CLO fund, and regulated ETP products, Ethena is rebuilding its foundation with the bricks of traditional finance.

Meanwhile, Wall Street giants are undergoing a subtle psychological shift. They no longer look down on DeFi, but are actively embedding themselves in it, not as disruptors, but as channels, distributors, and holders of governance tokens. Behind this "lowering of their stance" lies anxiety about the future: in a world where stablecoins may become the mainstream settlement tool, not participating is riskier than participating.

The collaboration between Ethena and Janus Henderson may just be a ripple in the wave of financial infrastructure restructuring. But it clearly reveals a trend: the boundaries between traditional finance and decentralized finance are blurring, and stablecoins are at the heart of this convergence.