Ethena Accelerates 1.4 Billion ENA Unlock Ahead of StablecoinX Waiver
Ethena (ENA)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
startupfortune.com reports that Ethena is collapsing over a year of scheduled vesting into a single release on October 5, 2026. The protocol and its lead backers agreed to release roughly 1.4 billion ENA tokens, representing about 14% of the circulating supply, all at once. This accelerated release replaces the monthly drip-feed schedule that would have otherwise continued until March 2028.
Simultaneously, a separate filing disclosed that StablecoinX will see lock-up restrictions permanently lifted on approximately 3.03 billion ENA tokens, or 20% of total supply. However, these tokens cannot be sold without Ethena Foundation permission, which retains a right of first refusal and requires five business days' notice for qualifying sales. The Ethena Foundation also approved a fee switch in September, directing protocol revenue toward ENA buybacks once USDe supply hits specific thresholds.
Currently, USDe supply sits at $4.9 billion, meaning the buyback mechanism will not activate until supply grows by more than 50%. This revenue redirection starts at 5% of qualifying revenue once the $7.5 billion threshold is reached. The token has traded near $0.27 on October 1 before slipping toward the $0.17 range in the days leading up to the unlock. Ethena's underlying revenue sources have generated an annualized run rate of $55 to $60 million, though this is not yet buying back ENA.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for ENA, measured when this story was written up on 4 October 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
Whalio spot data for ENA on Binance shows a price of $0.2392 with a 1-hour buy ratio of 50.7% and a 4-hour buy ratio of 55.8%. These short-term ratios exceed the 24-hour buy ratio of 52.3%, indicating that buying pressure is building in the most recent hours. The Volume Delta for the 24-hour period is positive at +$1,021,406, meaning buyers have absorbed more volume than sellers over the last day. This positive delta suggests net accumulation, as buyers are paying the ask price more frequently than sellers are hitting the bid. Over the last hour, the Volume Delta is +$48,438, and over four hours, it is +$363,977, confirming sustained net buying activity. CVD closed at +$3,591,837 for the 24-hour period, with net buying occurring in 21 out of 24 hours.
The latest daily buy ratio of 50.3% sits at the 71st percentile of the last 322 days, against a median of 49.0% - stronger buying than most days.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for ENA, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
Comparing today's activity to the preceding week reveals a shift in trading behavior. The 24-hour buy ratio of 52.3% is higher than the 7-day average buy ratio of 48.6%, showing a +3.6 point increase in buying dominance. However, the spot volume of $21,866,381 is only 0.33x the weekly average, indicating significantly lower participation than usual. While the buy ratio is elevated, the volume is well below normal levels. This suggests an unusual day characterized by stronger buying intent but reduced overall market activity.