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DeFi’s total value locked never reclaimed its 2021 peak, even four years and a full bull market later. That data point convinced Ethena Labs founder Guy Young the onchain dream needed a backup plan.
Young joins Laura Shin days after launching Ethena Pay, a neobank paying 6% on dollar deposits and 5% cashback in AVAX while hiding from users that their balance sits in a self-custodial stablecoin wallet, not a bank account. He argues yield, not brand loyalty, is what pulls the next hundred million users onto crypto rails.
They cover why Young shrugs off Tether-backed Plasma as a rival, how USDe’s backing shifted from a basis trade toward AAA-rated real-world-asset lending, why a Revolut-style KYC breach is a risk Ethena can’t fully control, and why card spend and FX fees, not USDe’s own yield, are the revenue line he is actually chasing.
Host:
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- Laura Shin – Founder, CEO and Host of Unchained
Guest:
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- Guy Young – Founder and CEO of Ethena Labs
