Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
On March 18, Securitize and Ethena, closely collaborating with BlackRock's money market fund BUIDL, announced the launch of the EVM-compatible blockchain Converge, aiming to provide an efficient and compliant infrastructure for tokenized assets and institutional-grade DeFi ecosystems.
Does this sound like a sudden big move? Not really; the groundwork for this was laid back in September 2024. At that time, Securitize and Ethena quietly began their first formal collaboration, jointly developing the stablecoin USDtb (pegged 1:1 to the US dollar).
Now, these two companies have joined forces again to announce the launch of the EVM-compatible institutional-grade DeFi blockchain Converge, which is planned to officially go live in the second quarter of this year. This series of actions raises the question: how has the collaboration between Securitize and Ethena evolved from a stablecoin to a new public chain? What possibilities will this partnership bring to the financial market?
USDtb: The Starting Point and Testing Ground for Collaboration
Although USDtb is also a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, its design intent and asset reserves have their own distinct characteristics.
In the reserve composition of USDtb, 90% is invested in BlackRock's USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) — a tokenized money market fund based on the Ethereum blockchain, primarily holding low-risk assets such as cash, US short-term government bonds, and repurchase agreements; the remaining 10% is backed by other stablecoins (like USDC) to ensure liquidity can be maintained even when traditional markets are closed.
As part of the Ethena ecosystem, USDtb complements its flagship product USDe (a synthetic dollar maintained through hedging with crypto assets and derivatives), especially during market volatility or when financing rates are negative, USDtb can serve as a stable backing for USDe.
On December 17, 2024, USDtb officially launched, and on its first day, the locked value exceeded $64.5 million, with market enthusiasm beyond expectations. José Maria Macedo, one of the founders of blockchain R&D company Delphi Labs, predicted that USDtb would become the largest tokenized treasury product within a month of its launch. Ethena's growth director Seraphim Czecker stated that USDtb's scale could potentially expand to $100 billion. Exaggerated? Perhaps. But according to data disclosed on usdtb.money, USDtb's current supply has reached $792 million, indicating initial market recognition of its potential. More importantly, the evolution of cooperation from USDtb to Converge shows that this is not just a simple stablecoin attempt, but a well-thought-out strategic layout by both companies.
Securitize played a key role in the USDtb project. As the tokenization service provider for BUIDL, it was responsible for the issuance process of USDtb and ensured compliance through its registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The smart contracts underwent multiple audits, and custody was supported by institutional service providers such as Copper and Zodia Custody. This division of labor reflects the combination of both parties' strengths: Securitize brought the bridge of traditional finance, while Ethena injected the flexibility and innovation of DeFi. The launch of USDtb was both a testing ground for their collaboration and a prelude to more grand plans.
The Cornerstone of Securitize: BUIDL and Multi-Chain Layout
To understand Securitize's role in this collaboration, one must trace back to its origins with BlackRock. In March 2024, Securitize partnered with the world's largest asset management company, BlackRock, to bring the BUIDL fund to the Ethereum blockchain. Since its launch, this fund has grown rapidly, exceeding $1 billion by March 2025, becoming a benchmark project in the tokenized asset field. The success of BUIDL not only earned Securitize a reputation but also provided a solid asset foundation for USDtb, allowing it to stand out in the stablecoin market.
Securitize's strength goes beyond this. Since its establishment in 2017, the company has tokenized over $2 billion in assets across various fields, including private equity, real estate, and credit funds. Its multi-chain strategy further enhances its influence. In addition to Ethereum, Securitize has issued tokens for ParaFi Capital's venture fund on Avalanche and a real estate investment trust for Spain's Mancipi S.A.; it has also deployed various tokenization projects on Solana and Polygon. This cross-chain layout not only reduces transaction costs and improves efficiency but also demonstrates Securitize's adaptability to different blockchain ecosystems.
In terms of financing, Securitize's achievements are equally impressive. By 2025, it had raised over $140 million through multiple rounds of financing, with investors including heavyweight institutions like BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, and Blockchain Capital. These resources provide assurance for Securitize's technology development and market expansion, laying a solid economic foundation for its collaboration with Ethena.
Converge: A New Chapter in Blockchain Forged Together
If USDtb is the starting point of the collaboration between Securitize and Ethena, then Converge represents an important evolution of this partnership. On March 18, both parties jointly announced the launch of Converge — an EVM-compatible L1 blockchain, planned to go live in the second quarter of this year. Its goal is clear: to provide high-performance, compliance-friendly infrastructure for tokenized assets and institutional-grade DeFi. The design of Converge integrates the core capabilities of both companies, continuing the successful experience of USDtb while attempting to address many pain points of existing public chains.
One of the features of Converge is its native asset design. Ethena's stablecoins USDtb and USDe will serve as the network's Gas tokens, directly embedded in the economic model. This design not only enhances the utility of the stablecoins but also provides a stable trading foundation for the network.
The division of labor between the two parties is more clearly reflected in Converge. Securitize is responsible for the issuance and management of tokenized assets, continuing its role in BUIDL and USDtb, while providing compliance support such as KYC/AML verification and regulatory reporting. Ethena brings its DeFi ecosystem experience, specifically through the form of sENA, where ENA holders can lock their tokens in the Converge network in exchange for rewards (which may be transaction fee sharing or staking rewards), thereby enhancing the utility and value of the tokens. This design directly brings Ethena's existing user base and approximately $6 billion in managed assets into Converge, accelerating the ecological construction of the new chain.
The initial list of partners is also quite impressive, including DeFi projects like Pendle, Avara (the parent company of Aave), and Morpho, as well as oracle service providers like RedStone and Pyth Network, showcasing Converge's ambition in ecological construction.
Why build a chain of its own? This may reflect a profound reflection on the limitations of existing blockchains. While Ethereum has a mature ecosystem, it has high transaction costs and limited speed; Avalanche and Solana, although high-performing, are not specifically designed for tokenized assets or institutional needs. The emergence of Converge may be Securitize and Ethena's attempt to create a customized platform — one that meets institutional demands for privacy and compliance while providing openness and flexibility for DeFi users.
Prospects for Cooperation and Strategic Layout Considerations
The collaboration between Securitize and Ethena, from USDtb to Converge, showcases a gradual yet ambitious strategic layout. The traditional securities market is worth up to $300 trillion, while the locked value in DeFi is only about $100 billion; the vast gap between the two is the space this collaboration aims to fill. If Converge can successfully launch and attract enough ecological participants, it may become an important hub connecting traditional finance and DeFi.
However, where does this strategic layout point? We can delve into several dimensions for deeper consideration.
First, does the launch of Converge mean that Securitize hopes to transform from a service provider to an infrastructure controller? By controlling the underlying blockchain, it can customize performance, compliance, and asset management tools to directly meet the needs of major clients like BlackRock while reducing reliance on third-party public chains. This independence may be key to its long-term competitiveness, but it also comes with high development and promotion costs.
Second, does Ethena's role in the collaboration signal a new direction for DeFi? The dual stablecoin strategy of USDtb and USDe, along with Ethena's experience in derivatives and yield assets, may inject a unique economic model into Converge. Whether this model can attract more DeFi projects to migrate to the new chain and form a self-sustaining ecosystem remains to be seen.
Furthermore, is the collaboration paving the way for a larger-scale integration of TradFi and DeFi? With BlackRock as a common link, its support for BUIDL and USDtb may just be the beginning. In the future, Converge may become a testing ground for more traditional financial institutions to experiment with blockchain, but this also brings regulatory complexities. Attitudes towards blockchain and tokenized assets vary globally, and finding a balance between compliance and innovation will be a challenge both parties must face.
Of course, challenges are everywhere. Emerging public chains like Aptos and Sui are also competing for market share, and Converge must prove its unique value. Additionally, ecological construction requires time and resources; whether Securitize and Ethena can coordinate their priorities to jointly promote this vision remains an unknown.
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