Ethena Labs' USDe, the fourth-largest stablecoin by market cap, can no longer be offered for sale by the firm’s German subsidiary Ethena GmbH after BaFin—the country’s financial supervisory authority—identified “serious deficiencies” in the licensing approval process.
BaFin has taken multiple measures to protect its customers by imposing supervisory controls on Ethena GmbH. These include blocking Ethena GmbH’s website and asset reserves as well as appointing an independent representative to oversee the implementation of the various measures.
Ethena’s stablecoin was launched just in time before Markets in Crypto Assets regulations, also known as MiCA in Europe, came into effect.
“Ethena GmbH benefited from a temporary arrangement made under the European [MiCA] Regulation to enter German markets” Release states for BaFinEthena GmbH, which issued the tokens with asset references only after applying one day before a deadline of July 30, 2024.
Ethena GmbH had a grandfathered status by applying for an authorization on July 29. They were allowed to release tokens as long as they received or did not receive authorization. Ethena Labs said Friday that it's pursuing other options for MiCA certification.
“Since its inception, Ethena has been exploring various options and jurisdictions when it comes to regulatory frameworks globally that would be conducive to our business," posted Ethena Labs Twitter is now on X. We have several entities that facilitate minting and redemption within our organization. “And as a result, we have multiple entities within our structure that facilitate minting and redemption. [MiCA] “We have pursued various options, including authorization through Ethena GmbH.”
Ethena, since its founding, has explored various jurisdictions and options when it comes regulatory frameworks that are conducive to the business. As a result, we now have several entities in our structure to facilitate minting and redemption. A MiCAR…
— Ethena Labs (@ethena_labs) March 21, 2025
The measures taken against Ethena Labs, a subsidiary of Ethena GmbH do not impact USDe trade on secondary markets.
Stablecoin Issuer: “To clarify, this decision will not disrupt current USDe listings, minting or redemption via Ethena Limited, which services the vast majority our mint users, and USDe is fully backed.” The following is a list of the most recent posts on this website:.
BaFin indicated, while its actions are still not final, that they have suspicions about Ethena GmbH. […] “without the required Securities Prospectus.”
Ethena Labs, Securitize and others announced earlier this week a new Ethereum Virtual Machine compatible blockchain which will utilize stablecoins to pay for gas.
ENA (the native token) is now down over 6% to $0.358, a price that’s 76% below its high.
Andrew Hayward is the editor
