Ethena Tumbles as Market Rotation Favors Bitcoin and Large Caps
Ethena's (ENA) price dropped by approximately 9% over the past 25 hours, largely due to an impending major unlock and a market rotation towards Bitcoin (BTC) and large-cap cryptocurrencies.
A significant upcoming event is the removal of restrictions on about 3.03 billion ENA tokens, representing around 20% of ENA's total supply, on October 5, 2026. This waiver removes old lockup, vesting, and release restrictions, allowing these tokens to be sold under a defined procedure.
The possibility of a single holder with 20% of the supply becoming less constrained typically creates a strong bearish supply overhang, pressuring ENA's valuation.
Concurrently, capital rotated towards BTC, which rose about 3.4% to above $86,000 on October 2, 2026, while its market share approached 60%. Several large caps like ETH, XRP, SOL, and BNB also advanced as traders moved into risk-on mode with BTC dominance near 60%.