Standard Chartered projects Ethena’s USDe at $40B and ENA at $2 by end of 2028

# Chartered forecasted

# Why the bank expects USDe to scale

Standard Chartered says Ethena has expanded the range of yield sources behind USDe beyond the traditional crypto basis trade. The report lists DeFi and institutional lending, tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), and basis trades tied to equities and commodities as new contributors. Those sources currently generate a blended protocol yield the report cites at about 5.2%.

# How USDe growth links to ENA price

At a $25 billion USDe supply milestone, Ethena's internal estimate — assuming a 6% gross protocol yield and a 25% net revenue take rate — implies roughly $375 million in annual ENA buybacks. Standard Chartered extends that logic to its $40 billion USDe forecast and estimates annual buybacks could amount to about 23% of ENA's circulating market capitalization if ENA's price remained unchanged.

# Why buyback rates should push ENA higher, according to the bank

Standard Chartered argues that a high buyback-to-market-cap ratio is unlikely to be sustained. The bank expects buybacks to lift ENA's market price until the annualized repurchase rate falls to a lower, steadier percentage of market capitalization. The report compares this dynamic to Uniswap (UNI), where buyback rates stabilized around 3–4% as token prices rose.

# Relative outlook versus Bitcoin and Ether

Standard Chartered's forecasts also include price paths for major crypto assets through 2028. The bank projects Bitcoin at $300,000 and Ether at $18,000 by the end of 2028 and expects ENA's performance to outpace those projections if its USDe growth and buyback assumptions materialize.

# Concrete implications for investors and observers

• If Ethena can diversify yield sources and tap tokenized markets at scale, the protocol's revenue engine could become materially larger than current levels.
• A governance-directed fee switch that routes most net revenue to buybacks materially alters tokenomics, making supply-demand mechanics a central driver of ENA price.
• High projected buyback rates imply significant upside in a rising-price scenario, but the bank notes such rates would likely compress as market cap grows.

# Short summary