Anchorage Digital and Ethena Labs Expand Institutional Lending Through Atlas Collateral Management

TL;DR:

• Anchorage Digital and Ethena Labs are expanding their collaboration through Atlas Collateral Management, with Anchorage Digital serving as collateral manager for Ethena Lab's institutional investment lending activity.
• The structure enables Ethena Labs to invest in loans while borrower collateral remains held in custody at Anchorage Digital rather than deposited onchain.
• The collaboration builds on Anchorage Digital’s existing role as the U.S. issuer of Ethena Lab's USDtb stablecoin, deepening a partnership that now spans issuance and collateral management.

Anchorage Digital, home to America’s first federally regulated crypto bank, today announced an expansion of Atlas Collateral Management through a new collaboration with Ethena Labs. Under the structure, Anchorage Digital serves as collateral manager for Ethena Lab's institutional investment lending activity, enabling Ethena Labs to invest in loans while collateral remains securely held in custody at Anchorage Digital.

Atlas, Anchorage Digital's secure collateral management and settlement infrastructure, monitors collateral and loan thresholds in real time, supports margin processes, and executes rules-based actions when required. Collateral remains within Anchorage Digital's custody framework rather than moving fully onchain. For Ethena Labs, this unlocks the ability to interact with institutional, off-chain demand. For borrowers, it provides access to crypto-native credit without requiring them to abandon existing custody, compliance, and risk management workflows.

"Institutions want access to crypto-native capital, but not at the cost of custody, controls, or operational rigor. Atlas Collateral Management lets protocols like Ethena Labs meet institutional borrowers where they are, combining the speed of DeFi with the standards institutions require."— Nathan McCauley, Co-Founder and CEO, Anchorage Digital

A new standard for institutional DeFi lending

Most DeFi lending markets require collateral to move directly onchain–a model that works for crypto-native participants but creates friction for institutions that need assets to remain within qualified custody and segregated accounts. Atlas Collateral Management changes that.

With Anchorage Digital appointed as collateral manager, Ethena Labs creates a loan investment structure designed for institutional counterparties. This is the new standard Atlas is bringing to market: DeFi protocols adapting to institutional requirements, and institutions accessing onchain rates without compromising on custody or control.

A deeper collaboration with Ethena Labs

The announcement extends an already broad partnership between Anchorage Digital and Ethena Labs. Anchorage Digital Bank N.A. serves as the U.S. issuer of USDtb, Ethena Labs’ institutional-grade stablecoin. Separately, Anchorage Digital supports Ethena Labs’ institutional lending activity through Atlas Collateral Management. Together, these workstreams span stablecoin issuance, custody, and onchain credit infrastructure.

"Ethena is building for a future where crypto-native financial products serve increasingly sophisticated institutions. Atlas Collateral Management brings the controls, custody, and operational standards required to support that next phase of growth." — Guy Young, Founder and CEO, Ethena Labs

A repeatable blueprint for institutional protocol lending

For protocols, Atlas provides a way to expand institutional lending operations without building collateral management, monitoring, and liquidation infrastructure in-house. For institutional borrowers, the model provides access to protocol-driven lending markets while collateral remains held within Anchorage Digital's custody framework.

As more protocols seek to serve institutional demand, Anchorage Digital is building the connective tissue between regulated custody and crypto-native capital markets. Through Atlas Collateral Management, DeFi lending can scale beyond its earliest user base to the institutions now entering digital assets at scale.

To learn more about Atlas Collateral Management, explore integrating your protocol, or access institutional lending markets through Anchorage Digital, get in touch.