Dune Analytics has indicated that traditional asset managers are now actively shaping lending markets on Solana. Recently this month, crypto-native issuer Ethena deployed $200 million of its USDG stablecoin into two isolated lending pools—one on Kamino Finance, curated by Sentora, and the other on Jupiter Lend, curated by Bitwise. This move marks the first time a regulated asset manager with $11 billion in client assets has curated a major lending market on Jupiter Lend at this scale. This, according to the insights from Dune Analytics.
The initiative is being hailed as a live test of a new template for institutional-grade yield on public blockchains. As explained in the update from Dune Analytics, the product is a sophisticated leverage loop designed to deliver high, predictable returns with built-in safeguards.
Users deposit USDe (currently yielding around 4%), borrow USDG at roughly 2%, and swap the borrowed funds back into USDe—repeating the cycle up to 12.5 times in a single transaction.
The result: a targeted net annual percentage yield of approximately 20%, complete with liquidation protections typically reserved for prime brokerage accounts.
What makes this different is its 24/7 operation on fully auditable Solana infrastructure, offering institutions the transparency and efficiency they demand without relying on traditional intermediaries.
Bitwise’s involvement stands out as a pivotal signal. As one of the established players in digital asset management—serving 70-plus investment products and partnering with 21 banks and broker-dealers—the firm is now directly setting risk parameters, monitoring positions in real time, and managing liquidation thresholds.
This level of hands-on curation represents a clear evolution from passive observation to active participation in DeFi lending.
Early data underscores the pent-up demand. Within 24 hours, the Kamino pool hit 100% utilization, becoming the fastest market in the protocol’s history to exceed $400 million in total size.
Jupiter Lend’s pool reached 78% utilization with $156 million borrowed and is projected to saturate within days.
Across both venues, USDe collateral swelled to nearly $400 million, while USDe supply on Solana surged 230-fold in under a week—from $1.5 million to roughly $350 million—almost entirely absorbed by these curated markets.
On-chain metrics paint a vivid picture of the leverage flywheel in action. USDG reserves in the pools declined as USDe collateral grew, tracing the classic crossing pattern of looped borrowing.
DEX volumes exploded in tandem: the new USDG–USDe pair traded $8 million on its first full day, while related pairs saw tens of millions more.
Borrow rates remained stable near 2% despite full utilization, thanks to conservative caps enforced by the curators—demonstrating disciplined risk management even under intense demand.
For Bitwise and the broader institutional cohort, this experiment goes beyond yield generation.
It tests whether curated on-chain markets can scale efficiently, whether risk parameters hold under pressure, and whether third-party capital will eventually replace seeded liquidity.
Upcoming borrow-cap increases on Kamino will provide the next stress test: how quickly can fresh supply be absorbed, and will organic participation from other USDG holders emerge at the prevailing 1.78% supply APY?The rapid success already suggests a structural shift.
By pairing a regulated asset manager like Bitwise with a proven issuer like Ethena on transparent Solana venues, the model replicates familiar fixed-income structures while harnessing blockchain’s speed and auditability.
As institutions iterate live on-chain—adjusting parameters and responding to real-time utilization—the blueprint for institutional DeFi yield is being written in public. Dune Analytics concluded in the blog post that what actually began as a $400 million pilot on Solana could soon become the standard template for various yield products across crypto markets.