FalconX and Ethena launch $1 billion institutional lending facility

Cryptocurrency broker FalconX and stablecoin protocol Ethena have partnered to launch a secured lending facility.

The launch was announced by the two firms, which gives large crypto investors a new credit channel built around bank-style custody controls.

How will Falcon X and Ethena’s facility work? 

FalconX and Ethena have announced that they are partnering to release a $1 billion secured lending facility in which money would move through a dedicated special purpose vehicle (SPV) rather than a direct loan between the two companies. 

FalconX will maintain a role as the originator, servicer and collateral manager, while the collateral behind each loan sits with qualified custodians.

Ethena is the main lender in a revolving credit deal. The borrower is a FalconX company called FalconX International Lending Opportunities SPC, which is structured so its assets stay separate and safe even if FalconX goes bankrupt.

FalconX International Lending Opportunities SPC uses Ethena’s money to buy crypto loans from FalconX and then hands those loans over to Ethena as collateral, giving it a chance to get its money back first if there’s a problem. 

Ethena also gets daily updates on each loan and can see exactly which crypto wallets hold the backing assets. However, details about the interest rates, maximum loan amounts, and how much collateral borrowers must put up were not shared publicly.

Through the partnership, FalconX gets a new source of money to lend out to its big institutional clients while Ethena gets a new way to make money from the reserves that back USDe that doesn’t rely on futures trading. 

USDe maintains its one-dollar value by pairing crypto collateral with short futures positions, unlike stablecoins like USDC, which are backed by actual dollars and cash equivalents.

Notably, FalconX already started offering USDe support across its trading, derivatives and custody services in September 2025.

Cryptopolitan reported that Ethena partnered with Anchorage Digital, Maple Institutional and Coinbase Asset Management on lending deals in March and April.

In June, Coinbase Ventures bought Ethena’s token (ENA) and teamed up with Ethena on savings products. That same month, BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) added USDe to its Aladdin platform, which is used by big investors to manage their portfolios.

What are the terms of the overcollateralized loan? 

Borrowers under the facility must post assets worth more than the loans they draw, because it provides a cushion that lets the lender sell collateral if its value slides toward the outstanding balance. 

LlamaRisk, a risk adviser, said good collateral rules are the best way to protect USDe’s money. They warned that if crypto prices drop, liquidation rights should allow a lender to sell its collateral fast without having to deal with delays from lawsuits or official notices. 

Several crypto lenders have collapsed due to this in the past.

ENA has been trading around $0.085 this August with a market value of about $833 million, ranking 59th among all cryptocurrencies. That is far below its all-time high of $1.52 from April 2024. When the partnership was announced on August 13, ENA was still trading below its 200-day average of roughly $0.13. 

The companies said they expect the lending program to grow as borrowing demand increases. They called it one of the biggest uses of on-chain money in secured institutional lending so far.

Don’t just read crypto news. Understand it. Subscribe to our newsletter. It's free.