We are pleased to announce that following extensive review, our qualified custody solution, Kraken Custody, has been approved by the Ethena Risk Committee (ERC) to support custody of collateral assets for USDe.
The ERC is an independent committee elected by the Ethena DAO governance tasked with evaluating risk factors for the Ethena protocol. This commitment reinforces Ethena’s focus on disciplined risk management and institution-ready infrastructure.
Kraken Custody is a qualified digital asset custodian operated by our US state-chartered bank. Built for sophisticated institutional clients, the platform supports active operational workflows while maintaining strict controls around transparency, asset segregation and security.
Assets held in Ethena’s name are held individually in fully segregated, bankruptcy-proof cold storage vaults in accordance with institutional best practices for asset protection and operational resilience.
Gurpreet Oberoi, head of Institutional Kraken: “This commitment reflects our ability to support complex institutional workflows with robust security and compliance standards. Kraken Custody brings together regulatory clarity, robust controls and deep operational expertise to support critical infrastructure in digital asset markets.”
Guy Young, founder of Ethena: “For Ethena, custody is a critical risk decision. The selection of Kraken Custody reinforces the Ethena Risk Committee’s commitment to scaling USDe on an infrastructure built to meet institutional expectations. The depth of Kraken Custody’s regulatory framework, operational controls, and security architecture closely aligns with how we define the management of USDe support assets.”
Kraken Custody’s security architecture incorporates multiple layers of protection, including Hardware Security Modules (HSM) and Multi-Party Computing (MPC), supported by our internal security teams. Kraken Custody supports a wide range of digital asset organizations, including publicly traded digital companies, venture capital firms, asset managers, hedge funds, and investment funds.
Beginning in January 2026, Kraken Custody will participate in Ethena’s ongoing transparency processes, including monthly custodian attestations and weekly proof of reserves reports, promoting greater visibility into USDe support.
