Sky Founder Sells 2.04M ENA After Claiming From Ethena Labs

• Rune Christensen sold 2.04 million ENA tokens for 744K USDC shortly after claiming them from Ethena Labs.
• Ethena Labs aims to increase USDe’s scalability by integrating Solana and liquid staking derivatives as collateral.

Rune Christensen, the founder of Sky (previously MakerDAO), has sold all 2.04 million ENA tokens he had claimed just a few hours before for 744,000 USDC, according to SpotOnChain. This transaction marks a significant movement a week before, with his redeeming 22.08 million USDe into USDT.

Being among the top holders of USDe, his actions specifically stand out as indicating a possible change in his attitude or confidence toward Ethena Labs and its related assets.

Rune Christensen, founder of Sky (fka MakerDAO), sold all 2.04M $ENA for 744K $USDC immediately after claiming them from @ethena_labs 9 hours ago.

Notably, he also redeemed all 22.08M $USDe back into $USDT 7 days ago. He was previously among the top holders of $USDe.

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— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) October 23, 2024

Ethena Innovative Approach to Stablecoins and Christensen’s Strategic Shift 

With its synthetic stablecoin USDe, which is linked to the US dollar but runs unlike conventional stablecoins like USDC or USDT, Ethena Labs has made progress.

Supported by assets such as Ethereum and Bitcoin, USDe keeps its stability by delta hedging—using derivatives to control collateral risk—that results from changing value. This methodology is meant to make sure USDe stays a constant value even if the crypto market is naturally erratic.

Ethena Labs has been creative, providing a synthetic dollar alternative free from depending on conventional financial institutions. The ENA token functions in part as part of its ecosystem since it lets holders shape the evolution of the protocol.

Still, Rune Christensen’s choice to sell all of his ENA tokens soon after acquiring them points to a shift in his perspective or strategic orientation. It’s interesting to note that he also decided to redeem a significant sum of USDe a week earlier, suggesting a more general review of his place in Ethena Labs.

Though some investors are still hopeful about USDe’s future, obstacles lie ahead. The dependability of the stablecoin on derivatives and centralized exchanges brings counterparty and liquidity concerns.

Through alliances with custodians and off-exchange settlement alternatives, Ethena Labs has tried to allay these worries. However, there are doubts about the long-term viability of their approach.

On the other hand, CNF previously reported that Ethena has suggested using liquid staking variants and Solana (SOL) as additional collateral for USDe. By including Solana, which might yield billions of open interest via perpetual futures, this action is considered a means to improve the scalability of USDe.

Meanwhile, as of writing, ENA is swapped hands about $0.3721, down 4.06% over the last 24 hours and 16.06% over the last 7 days.