Ethena Launches Mobile Payments App on Avalanche with Visa Integration

Ethena has launched Ethena Pay, a mobile payments application for USDe. The app uses Avalanche's blockchain infrastructure and integrates with Visa for secure transactions.

The service is initially available on iOS in over 50 countries, with plans to expand to additional markets, including the United States and European Union. Ethena has reported more than $30 billion in cumulative activity through its mint and redemption systems, but this figure does not represent activity on Ethena Pay.

The payments application introduces a new use case for USDe, moving beyond DeFi trading and collateral. Whether users will adopt USDe for regular payments remains to be seen, as the service faces challenges such as transaction reliability, costs, merchant acceptance, and regulatory compliance.