Ethena’s USDe vs miUSD: The Stablecoin War for Bitcoin Liquidity

How Omnichain Design and Delta-Neutral Strategies Are Competing for $30B in ETF Inflows

The Battlefield: Bitcoin’s $1.3T Liquidity Pool

With Bitcoin ETF inflows surpassing $30B in 2024, a new front has opened in the stablecoin wars:

• Ethena’s USDe: Delta-neutral synthetic dollar backed by BTC collateral + perps (5.6% APY)
• Mitosis’ miUSD: Omnichain stablecoin powered by cross-chain LP positions (8-12% APY)

💡 Why This Matters:
The winner will shape how Bitcoin’s idle liquidity enters DeFi—as isolated ETH-based instruments or chain-agnostic money lego.

Technical Breakdown: Two Visions of Stability

1. Ethena USDe: The Perpetual Engine

• Mechanics:
  1. Deposit BTC → mint USDe
  2. Hedge delta via inverse perps (e.g., Binance BTCUSD)
  3. Earn funding rates + staking yield

// Simplified USDe Minting  
function mintUSDe(uint256 btcAmount) external {  
    BTC.transferFrom(msg.sender, vault, btcAmount);  
    USDe.mint(msg.sender, btcAmount * price);  
    openShortPerp(btcAmount); // Delta-neutral  
}  

Pros:

• High yield from perps + staking
• Native Bitcoin integration

Cons:

• Centralized exchange risk (70% perps on Binance)
• Limited to Ethereum

2. Mitosis miUSD: The Omnichain Workhorse

• Mechanics:
  1. Deposit cross-chain assets (BTC, ETH, SOL) → mint miUSD
  2. Auto-deployed to highest-yield pools across 12+ chains

// Omnichain miUSD Minting  
function mintMiUSD(address collateral, uint256 amount) external {  
    IERC20(collateral).transferFrom(msg.sender, address(this), amount);  
    miUSD.mint(msg.sender, amount * price);  
    _rebalanceLiquidity(); // Distributes to optimal chains  
}  

Pros:

• Multi-chain yield compounding
• No centralized exchange exposure

Cons:

• Smart contract risk across chains

Comparative Analysis

Use Cases: Where Each Shines

USDe’s Niche: Ethereum-Centric Strategies

• Institutional Cash Management: BlackRock uses USDe for Treasury yields
• Perp Traders: Hedge ETH exposure while earning yield

miUSD’s Playground: Omnichain Dominance

1. Cross-Collateral Loans:
   • Borrow miUSD against Solana NFTs → repay on Arbitrum
2. Multi-Chain Farming:
   • Deposit miUSD into 3 highest-yield pools via auto-rebalancer
3. Stablecoin Arbitrage:
   • Exploit 0.5–1.2% spreads between chains

Risks & Mitigations

Conclusion: The Omnichain Endgame

While USDe offers compelling Bitcoin-native yields, miUSD’s chain-agnostic liquidity engine positions it as the stablecoin of choice for:
✅ Multi-chain DeFi users needing universal liquidity
✅ Institutions requiring compliant cross-chain rails
✅ Long-term hodlers seeking compounding without chain loyalty