Janus Henderson invests in Ethena, backs USDe with AAA CLOs

Janus Henderson, the asset manager that oversees about $480 billion, announced on June 9 that it has invested in Ethena’s governance token ENA and will support the synthetic dollar USDe by allocating its tokenized AAA collateralized loan obligation (CLO) fund. The asset manager will hold USDe for treasury cash management and may explore distributing USDe to clients through exchange-traded instruments.

Under the agreement Janus Henderson will allocate its tokenized AAA CLO product to support part of USDe’s reserves. Ethena will place some USDe backing into the same tokenized fund. The companies described the arrangement as creating a two-way link between Ethena’s on-chain stablecoin and Janus Henderson’s tokenized credit product.

Janus Henderson’s tokenized CLO fund was built with Centrifuge under the Anemoy structure and is designed to mirror the manager’s $27 billion AAA CLO ETF. An on-chain version of the fund launched in 2025 and was initially seeded with $1 billion from the Sky ecosystem via Grove. The AAA tranches sit at the highest-rated layer of securitized corporate loans and have shown very low default rates historically.

For Ethena, adding tokenized AAA CLOs provides a yield source that is not tied to crypto funding rates and broadens USDe’s reserve mix beyond crypto hedges and U.S. Treasuries. Janus Henderson’s involvement could offer institutional distribution channels that Ethena did not access with its earlier BlackRock-backed stablecoin launch.

Ethena founder Guy Young wrote on X that the partnership is “excited to bring our first partner to market for USDe backing outside of BlackRock BUIDL with Janus Henderson JAAA.”

ENA traded near $0.083 at the time of reporting, down about 7% over 24 hours and well below its 2024 high near $1.52. Market participants noted that token price moves may depend on how quickly the USDe allocation into the CLO product is implemented. The announcement coincides with reports that Janus Henderson is moving toward a potential take-private buyout led by Trian Fund Management and General Catalyst.

The agreement does not specify the exact size of allocations or a firm timetable for reallocation of USDe reserves. Janus Henderson’s potential client distribution of USDe through exchange-traded instruments also lacks a detailed launch plan. Both firms expect to publish more operational details as implementation proceeds.