
Ethena Labs has committed $250 million to Securitize’s STAC fund, a tokenized product providing onchain access to AAA-rated collateralized loan obligations. This investment brings Ethena’s total allocation to tokenized structured credit to $500 million, following a previous $250 million investment in Centrifuge’s JAAA fund. The STAC fund, which launched in October 2025, offers institutional-grade, floating-rate credit exposure that was previously inaccessible to most crypto-native investors. By utilizing blockchain rails, the fund enables investors to bypass traditional brokerage accounts and benefit from 24/7 settlement capabilities. This move is significant for the RWA market as it diversifies DeFi yield sources away from crypto-correlated assets toward traditional, high-rated debt instruments. Furthermore, the integration of atomic swaps between Ethena’s USDtb stablecoin and products like BUIDL or STAC removes historical friction associated with T+1 settlement windows. While these developments enhance operational efficiency, they also introduce new considerations regarding smart contract risk and the maturity of onchain redemption mechanisms.
Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs) are structured financial products consisting of pools of leveraged corporate loans divided into risk-based tranches. The AAA-rated tranche represents the most senior position, offering the highest security and priority for repayment within the capital structure.