Athena Labs launches USDtb, backed by BlackRock’s BUIDL fund

Athena Labs officially launched USDtb, a new stablecoin backed by BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity (BUIDL) fund, on December 16.

Developed in partnership with Securitize, USDtb is designed to function like existing stablecoins such as USDC and USDT, with reserves invested in cash or cash-equivalent assets to maintain a 1:1 value ratio.

USDtb debuts

According to the official blog post, the main reserve asset of the stablecoin, BUIDL, accounts for 90% of USDtb’s global support, positioning it as the highest BUIDL-backed stablecoin to date. USDtb is separate from Athena’s USDe, so it offers users an alternative stablecoin that offers a different risk profile.

Additionally, USDtb is expected to improve USDe’s resilience in volatile market conditions as it can serve as a reserve asset during periods of negative funding rates. The product has passed comprehensive audits from leading security companies such as Code4rena, Quantstamp, Cyfrin and Pashov. Under consideration for inclusion in the $1 billion Spark Tokenization Grand Prize.

Athena has tapped Copper, Zodia Custody, Komainu, and Coinbase Institutional to serve as custodians of its newly launched USDtb stablecoin. The token’s liquidity will be supported by major providers including Jump, Cumberland, Amber Group, GSR Markets and SCB Limited.

Impact of USDtb on the Athena Stablecoin Ecosystem

José Maria Macedo, co-founder of blockchain research and development firm Delphi Labs, predicts that USDtb will become the largest tokenized treasury product on the chain within a month of its launch. Highlighting the importance of Athena, Macedo noted that USDtb not only offers a stablecoin option with “lower risk” returns, but also strengthens Athena’s existing USDe stablecoin.

The executive even said that during periods when funding rates fall below Treasury rates, Athena can close hedge positions and reallocate assets to USDtb. This approach reduces USDe’s exposure to negative funding rate concerns while ensuring that its minimum yield matches the Treasury rate.

Meanwhile, Seraphim Czecker, head of growth at Athena, discussed the impact of USDtb on Athena’s operations, especially in bearish market conditions. He explained that extended periods of negative funding rates no longer pose a threat to Athena as the platform can now allocate capital to its own stablecoin backed by real-world assets, USDtb.

This effectively establishes a yield “sweat” tied to the T-Bill rate, ensuring a stable APY even in adverse market environments. Czecker further highlighted USDtb’s scalability, noting its potential to exceed $100 billion in total locked value (TVL).

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