Ethena Token Surges 23% Amid Governance Changes and Ecosystem Growth
Ethena's (ENA) token surged by around 23% in just one day due to a combination of governance changes, ecosystem growth, and a broader risk-on market backdrop.
The key driver behind this price increase is the recently announced 'fee switch' that ties Ethena's protocol revenue more tightly to ENA. This proposal would direct 95% of net protocol revenue into ENA buybacks, with only 5% reserved for growth.
As part of this restructuring effort, there will also be a permanent waiver of the 48-month lockup on approximately 3 billion ENA tokens (about 20% of supply), effective October 5, 2026. However, sales from these tokens are subject to strict controls and consent rights held by the Ethena Foundation.
The USDe ecosystem has also been expanding, with Ethena's synthetic dollar now relying less on crypto derivatives and more on diversified yield-bearing collateral such as tokenized AAA-rated CLOs. This shift aims for more stable revenue and lower correlation to Bitcoin cycles.