Ethena Labs and Securitize today announced the upcoming launch of Converge, a new blockchain designed to support and advance DeFi and tokenized assets. Developed jointly by Ethena and Securitize, Converge is a purpose built EVM blockchain, optimized for both retail and institutional DeFi.

In addition to providing access to standard DeFi applications geared towards retail investors, Converge will feature a suite of apps and products developed in conjunction with partners that are specifically designed for institutional investors – helping to provide institutional capital with compliant access to the innovation and capital efficiency of DeFi.

Ethena will focus their institutional product offerings on Converge and seek to migrate their existing DeFi ecosystem which currently boasts just under $6 billion in assets.

Securitize, which has already minted nearly $2 billion in RWAs across multiple blockchains, will look to issue existing and future tokenized assets on Converge, and continue to facilitate interoperability across its many protocol integrations.

Converge will benefit from apps and products on-chain from initial partners such as Pendle, Aave Labs’ Horizon project, Ethereal, Morpho, and Maple Finance.

As RWAs deploy on Converge, custodial support will be provided by institutional-grade providers including Anchorage, Copper, Fireblocks, Komainu, and Zodia. Further, Converge will feature interoperability via LayerZero, Wormhole and oracle support from RedStone, Pyth.

“We’re developing Converge to fill a clear gap in the market as the go-to settlement layer for institutional-grade DeFi and tokenized assets,” said Guy Young, Founder of Ethena. “We see two core use cases for blockchains: settlement for speculation, and the storage and settlement of stablecoins and tokenized assets. While the first category is important, we view the second as a much larger opportunity over the next decade. Ethena and Securitze are uniquely positioned to win this category, together. We are thrilled to be teaming up with Securitize, the market leader in tokenizing RWAs and tokenization to bring Converge to market, and are confident that our combined expertise uniquely positions us to realize our shared vision together.”

“Institutions have been watching DeFi evolve with interest, but the lack of regulatory clarity and institutional-grade infrastructure has hindered their participation,” said Carlos Domingo, Co-Founder and CEO of Securitize. “With Converge, we’re solving this problem by creating a purpose-built blockchain designed to seamlessly bridge traditional finance with the opportunity of DeFi. By combining Ethena’s innovation in DeFi with Securitize’s leadership in tokenizing real-world assets, Converge sets a new standard for how institutions can confidently engage with on-chain financial markets.”

Converge will be compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) – enabling it to run Ethereum-based smart contracts, dApps, and tools without modification – and will boast performance that is in-line with industry-leading blockchains. To ensure compliance, the implementation of DeFi applications designed for institutional use will be vetted by Ethena and Securitize via a whitelist. However, Converge will be open to all users, offering access to both permissionless DeFi applications and permissioned institutional-grade offerings.

Additionally, ENA, Ethena’s native governance token, will serve as a stakeable asset (via sENA) for Converge, playing a crucial role in securing the network with a permissioned validator set composed of traditional finance entities and centralized exchanges. Both USDe and USDtb, a stablecoin product developed in partnership between Ethena and Securitize, will serve as gas tokens for the network.

Converge is expected to launch in Q2 2025. For the latest updates from Ethena and Securitize, visit convergeonchain.xyz