Ethena is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform on Ethereum that provides services that leverage liquid staked Ethereum derivatives.

Project Function

Products the platform offers include USDe, a 1:1 collateralized delta-neutral synthetic stablecoin with embedded yield named the ‘Internet Bond’ that combines yield derived from staked Ethereum and funding spreads from perpetual and futures’ markets.

Token Utility 

ENA is the platform’s governance token, allowing token holders to vote on proposals such as risk management frameworks, USDe collateral composition, and community grants.

About The Founders

Guy Young (Founder and CEO at Ethena Labs) has over six years of experience as an Investor at Cerberus Capital Management, a “global leader in alternative investing with approximately $60.00 billion in assets across complementary credit, private equity, and real estate strategies.”

Arthur Hayes (Founding Advisor at Ethena Labs) has experience as the Co-Founder and CEO of BitMEX, a centralized cryptocurrency exchange. Hayes simultaneously serves as the Co-Founder of 100x Group and the Chief Investment Officer at Maelstrom. Hayes began his career as an Associate at Deutsche Bank and Citi.

Risks of ENA

Like an investment in other crypto assets, there are some general risks to investing in ENA. These include:  (i) volatility risk and liquidity risk, (ii) short history risk, (iii) demand risk, (iv) forking risk, (v) code defects, (vi) regulatory risk, (vii) electronic trading risk, and (viii) cyber security risk. For additional information of these and other general risks associated with crypto assets and Uphold’s platform, please refer to the Risks Specific to Holding Digital Assets statement.

In addition to these general risks, an investment in ENA is subject to the following specific risks:

• ENA operates using smart contracts, which have an association with vulnerabilities and security breaches. Despite undergoing successful audits by well-regarded third-party entities, it is essential to acknowledge the existence of inherent risks. 

We emphasize that this Crypto Asset Statement is not an exhaustive description or summary of all risks associated with ENA. Investors should conduct their own research and perform their own assessment before trading any crypto asset to determine the appropriate level of risk for their personal circumstances.

The ENA community and Ethena founding team are not under any legal or regulatory obligation to disclose material information to the public regarding its activities. Holders of ENA have no recourse to the ENA community, Ethena founding team, or Uphold if ENA declines in value for any reason.

Changes to applicable law may adversely affect the use, transfer, exchange, or value of any of your crypto assets, and such changes may be sudden and without notice.

Uphold’s Evaluation Process

Prior to listing ENA on the Uphold Platform, Uphold performed due diligence on ENA and determined that ENA is unlikely to be a security or derivative under relevant securities legislation. Uphold’s analysis including reviewing publicly available information on the following: 

• The creation, governance, usage, and design of ENA, including ensuring the source code is open-source, audited and peer reviewed, security, and roadmap for growth in the developer community. 
• The supply, demand, maturity, utility, and liquidity of ENA.
• Any marketing materials put forward by the ENA social team including on, Twitter, Medium blog, LinkedIn posts, Discord and Telegram channels.
• Material technical risks associated with ENA, including any code defects, security breaches and other threats concerning ENA and its supporting blockchain (such as the susceptibility to hacking and impact of forking), or the practices and protocols that apply to them.
• Legal and regulatory risks associated with ENA, including any pending, potential, or prior civil, regulatory, criminal, or enforcement action relating to the issuance, distribution, or use of ENA.