The partnership with Securitize enhances the security of USDtb's backing, while the remaining 10% of reserves will be held in stablecoins and regulated tokenized U.S. Treasury products.

USDtb will be pegged to the U.S. dollar, ensuring that reserve assets equal the dollar value of each USDtb issued, similar to traditional stablecoins like USDC and USDT.

Ethena has engaged multiple custodians, including Copper and Coinbase Institutional, for the management of USDtb's assets, ensuring robust security measures are in place.

The launch of USDtb enhances Ethena's presence in the stablecoin market, following a 93% increase in the market cap of USDe, which now stands at $5.6 billion.

On December 16, 2024, Ethena Labs announced the launch of USDtb, a new stablecoin designed to stabilize its flagship USDe token during bearish crypto market conditions.

USDtb is backed by BlackRock’s tokenized fund shares, specifically the USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), which will constitute over 90% of USDtb's reserves, marking the highest allocation by any stablecoin issuer.

This new stablecoin aims to function independently from Ethena's existing stablecoin, USDe, offering users a distinct risk profile and flexibility.

The introduction of USDtb is expected to help Ethena manage risks by allowing the protocol to close underlying derivatives positions of USDe during negative funding rate periods.

Ethena's founder, Guy Young, highlighted that USDtb provides users with a different risk profile without leaving the Ethena ecosystem, responding to the growing demand for stablecoin options.

Ethena plans for USDtb to eventually be accepted as collateral for margin trading on centralized exchanges, thereby expanding its utility in the market.

Designed as a multichain stablecoin, USDtb utilizes LayerZero's Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) technology, allowing transfers across various blockchains including Ethereum, Base, Solana, and Arbitrum.

The growing trend of integrating traditional finance with decentralized finance (DeFi) is evident as other DeFi protocols, such as Aave, explore the use of BlackRock's BUIDL for their own stablecoin systems.