Ethena Ends Token Incentives for USDe Stakers Amid Cooling Funding Rates

Ethena is ending its token incentives for USDe stakers after an 85% decline in rewards. The program, which once powered one of crypto's fastest-growing stablecoin experiments, will drop to zero as of this month.

The Ethena protocol distributed over $750 million in total rewards to users since launch, helping USDe's circulating supply balloon to approximately $15 billion at its peak in October 2025. However, the supply has since contracted by more than 65%, falling below $5 billion as of late August 2026.

The reduction in discretionary ENA rewards tracked a cooling funding-rate environment, which generates yield for USDe holders. When perpetual futures funding rates run hot, Ethena's delta-neutral strategy prints money. When they cool off, the economics get tighter, and subsidizing growth with token emissions becomes harder to justify.