Ethena Recommends Allocating 95% of Revenue to ENA Buyback Program
Ethena has suggested allocating 95% of net revenue from its branded ventures towards ENA buybacks once the USDe supply hits $7.5 billion. This proposal also aims to cease monthly investor unlocks and delineate the economic framework of the ecosystem from the equity of Ethena Labs.
Summary
- Ethena plans to utilize 95% of its net revenue for ENA purchases once the USDe supply reaches the initial threshold of $7.5 billion.
- The Ethena Foundation has acquired locked ENA from certain seed investors and intends to expedite the remaining original investor unlocks.
- ENA surged approximately 23% over 24 hours to $0.17, marking nearly a twofold increase within a little more than a week.
- The current USDe supply is still below $5 billion, having dropped from a peak near $15 billion in October.
- Ethena is branching out into institutional credit and distribution partnerships, seeking revenue streams beyond crypto funding rates.
The Ethena Foundation states that these proposed changes aim to resolve two persistent issues regarding ENA: recurring supply from early investor unlocks and the ambiguity surrounding the economic benefits for token holders.
This overhaul integrates changes to the token’s supply schedule and introduces a proposed fee switch that could lead to ongoing market purchases of ENA. It also outlines a planned agreement whereby the majority of the intellectual property and economic advantages associated with the Ethena protocol would reside with the foundation and ecosystem rather than shareholders in Ethena Labs.
In response to the announcement, ENA experienced a notable surge, increasing around 23% within the past 24 hours to approximately $0.17. The token has nearly doubled in just over a week, building on gains seen during the recent crypto market upswing.
ENA buybacks could receive 95% of net revenue
According to the governance proposal, ENA holders will be voting on a fee switch that ties token purchases to the size of USDe’s circulating supply.
Once USDe hits the initial milestone of $7.5 billion, 95% of the net revenue generated by Ethena-branded businesses would be dedicated to buying ENA tokens. The remaining 5% would be reserved for ecosystem development.
Buybacks would increase as USDe circulation reaches further milestones, establishing a mechanism through which the growth of Ethena’s businesses can drive demand for ENA.
This proposal aims to tackle a question that has surrounded governance tokens in decentralized finance: whether the revenue generated by a protocol ultimately benefits the token itself. In Ethena’s scenario, the suggested structure would leverage revenue for open-market ENA demand rather than relying solely on governance rights or future utility expectations.
This isn’t Ethena’s first attempt at token repurchases. In August 2025, crypto.news reported on ENA buybacks when a $260 million program was putting approximately $5 million per day into token purchases as USDe supply and protocol revenue grew.
The latest initiative differentiates itself by linking purchases to recurring net revenue and established USDe supply thresholds, rather than depending exclusively on a fixed capital pool.
Ethena moves to eliminate the ENA unlock overhang
Alongside the revenue-related proposal, the Ethena Foundation has revealed it has bought out the remaining locked tokens from several large seed investors who had been selling ENA over the past nine months.
The remaining allocations assigned to original investors will also be unlocked on an expedited timeline, concluding the monthly release of venture investor tokens. The tokens attributed to the Ethena team will continue to follow their existing vesting schedules.
While this change alters when the remaining supply becomes available, it does not entirely remove those tokens. The foundation’s acquisition of locked allocations from specific seed investors, however, eliminates these holdings from entities that have previously sold ENA.
Unlocks have previously influenced ENA trading activity. For instance, in June 2025, an unlock of about 41 million ENA, valued at over $12 million at the time, had only a minimal market impact, with the token dropping approximately 1% that day.
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