Ethena Ends USDe Incentives as ENA Price Fluctuates
Ethena (ENA)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
cryptoticker.io reports that Ethena is terminating ENA token rewards for USDe holders effective September 30, 2026. The protocol announced on X that incentives have already dropped by roughly 85 percent since the 2024 airdrop, with zero token subsidies and inflation remaining from October 1. This wind-down follows over $750 million in payouts and a supply contraction from a peak of $15 billion to approximately $4.90 billion.
The yield mechanism relies on delta-neutral hedging, generating returns from staking yields and perpetual futures funding rates. Governance proposals introduce a buyback program for ENA once USDe supply exceeds $7.5 billion, directing 95 percent of net proceeds to open-market purchases. The governance token price was recorded at $0.2601 on September 28, reflecting a 9.1 percent daily decline despite a 26.5 percent weekly gain.
German holders face additional complexity, as BaFin closed the local Ethena entity in 2025, leaving no redemption claims against a German issuer. The sUSDe token trades at $1.25, indicating roughly 25 percent accrued yield since launch. An insurance fund held $61 million in March 2026 to buffer against negative funding rates. The protocol notes that yield compression is evident, with sUSDe yields dropping to around 5.01 percent by mid-September.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for ENA, measured when this story was written up on 28 September 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
Whalio data shows ENA trading at $0.2725 with a 24-hour buy ratio of 50.9 percent, indicating a balanced flow of capital. The 1-hour buy ratio dropped to 29.4 percent, suggesting short-term selling pressure, while the 4-hour ratio held at 52.0 percent. Volume delta was negative $665,548 in the last hour but positive $999,130 over 24 hours, showing that recent selling has been offset by earlier buying. The cumulative volume delta (CVD) closed at -$2,083,684, indicating that net selling pressure exceeded net buying over the full day. Net buying occurred in only 9 of the 24 hours, highlighting intermittent rather than sustained demand.
The latest daily buy ratio of 50.0% sits at the 67th percentile of the last 323 days, against a median of 49.0% - ordinary for this coin.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for ENA, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
Over the preceding week, the average buy ratio was 49.3 percent, with the latest day showing a slight increase of 1.6 percentage points. Trading volume was 0.71 times the weekly average, indicating lower-than-usual activity. The price rose 25.6 percent over eight days, contrasting with the daily dip. Total volume delta for the week was -$9,584,456, showing that despite the price gain, net selling outweighed buying over the longer timeframe. Only 3 of the 7 days saw net buying, suggesting the weekly rally was not broadly supported by consistent accumulation.