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What do Standard Chartered’s 2028 forecasts say?

Standard Chartered said in a research note released on Wednesday that it expects the supply of USDe to rise eightfold to $40 billion by the end of 2028. The bank said Ethena could support that growth by diversifying its yield generation beyond crypto markets alone. In the same report, it set a year-end 2028 price target of $2 for the ENA token.

That level implies a gain of roughly seven times from the $0.28 price cited in the report. The bank also expects USDe to grow slightly faster than the broader stablecoin market over the same period. The forecasts assume ENA could also outperform Bitcoin and Ether by 2028, with the bank projecting Bitcoin at $300,000 and Ether at $18,000 by the end of that period.

According to market data, ENA traded at around $0.27 on Wednesday. The token has risen about 28% over the past week and 77% over the past month, while its circulating market capitalization stood at roughly $2.65 billion.

Why does the shift in yield sources matter?

According to the report, declining returns from USDe’s traditional crypto basis trades have pushed Ethena to look for new revenue channels. In that model, spot crypto assets are held while short positions are opened simultaneously in perpetual futures contracts. Standard Chartered said Ethena has now built a broader structure generating a combined 5.2% yield.

  • DeFi and institutional lending
  • Basis trades linked to real-world assets, equities and commodities

The bank argues that this expansion matters for scale. More broadly, the tokenized asset market is projected to rise from about $350 billion today to $4 trillion by the end of 2028, which could enlarge the asset pool Ethena can use to generate yield.

Buybacks take center stage in ENA valuation

According to Standard Chartered, ENA’s valuation case centers on token buybacks that kick in as USDe grows. A framework approved by Ethena management in early September says 95% of net revenue from the business lines will be directed to ENA buybacks once certain supply thresholds are reached. Based on Ethena’s own calculation, if USDe supply reaches $25 billion and the protocol’s gross yield is 6% with a 25% share of net revenue, annual buybacks could amount to $375 million.

The bank’s market impact calculation

The bank calculated that if USDe supply rises to $40 billion and ENA’s price does not change, annual buybacks could equal about 23% of the token’s circulating market value. The report said that ratio would be difficult to sustain, so ENA’s price would likely rise, bringing the buyback rate down to a lower level. For comparison, Standard Chartered pointed to Uniswap and noted that UNI’s annualized buyback rate has settled in the 3%-4% range after price gains.

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