Ethena, the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol that has amassed nearly $1 billion in Total Value Locked (TVL) within a month, has announced its exclusive integration with Injective, a lightning-fast interoperable layer one blockchain. This collaboration marks Ethena’s first integration outside the Ethereum ecosystem, paving the way for Injective users and the wider IBC community to access USDe, Ethena’s synthetic dollar, and participate in the protocol’s Shard Campaign.

Ethena has been making waves in the crypto sphere with its innovative approach to creating yield-bearing synthetic tokens. USDe, the protocol’s synthetic dollar, offers a censorship-resistant, stable, and scalable solution for the digital asset market. Unlike traditional stable assets, USDe is fully backed on-chain and free to compose on other protocols, relying on advanced technologies such as delta-hedging and established assets like ETH to maintain its peg to the dollar.

At the heart of the Ethena ecosystem is the Internet Bond, a high-yield financial instrument that democratizes investment opportunities and savings concepts. By leveraging staked ETH and derivatives markets, Ethena ensures the stability of the USDe peg while generating substantial yields, creating a new type of stable asset called the synthetic dollar.

Starting Wednesday, March 6th, USDe will be available to Injective users, granting them access to this innovative synthetic dollar. Moreover, through this exclusive collaboration, holders of USDe on Injective will be eligible to participate in the Ethena Shards Campaign beginning Monday, March 11th. Ethena will allow Injective users to receive shards for holding USDe in their Injective wallets, with users receiving 5x shards (or points) on the Ethena protocol as part of their “Shards Campaign” to promote engagement and community participation.

The integration between Ethena and Injective is made possible by Injective’s implementation of the Ethereum standard EIP712, allowing Ethereum wallets like MetaMask to seamlessly connect to the Injective network and generate an Injective wallet address automatically linked to an Ethereum wallet address. Ethena will leverage this integration to query the Injective network for Ethereum addresses holding USDe and grant shards to these users on the Ethena dApp.

Injective users can access USDe across various dApps built on the blockchain, including Helix, the premier decentralized exchange on Injective. With near-zero fees, dApps on Injective now serve as the cheapest gateway to earn Ethena shards. Users can track their shards directly on Ethena by connecting their MetaMask wallet associated with their Injective wallet address, with shards being updated every 24 hours on the Ethena platform.

Keplr users can also participate in Ethena’s Shard Campaign by importing their Keplr wallet address into a new MetaMask account to receive shards. They can obtain USDe on Helix with their Keplr account and connect their new associated MetaMask account to Ethena to view their earned shards.

The integration with Ethena exemplifies the seamless access between Ethereum and Injective, unlocking a vast array of opportunities for both the Injective community and the world of crypto as a whole. With Injective, Ethereum users can directly obtain novel Ethereum-based assets such as USDe at lightning-fast speeds, near-zero fees, while utilizing Ethereum native tooling and wallets like MetaMask.

As Ethena continues to revolutionize the DeFi landscape with its synthetic dollar and Internet Bond, the exclusive launch on Injective marks a significant milestone in the protocol’s expansion beyond the Ethereum ecosystem. This collaboration not only benefits Ethena and Injective users but also demonstrates the increasing interoperability and synergy within the broader crypto and blockchain community.