Ethena Proposes Directing 95% of Net Revenue to ENA Buybacks Once USDe Supply Reaches $7.5B
Key Takeaways
- •The first ENA buyback threshold is set at $7.5 billion of circulating USDe.
- •At that level, 95% of net revenue would fund ENA purchases, while 5% would go to ecosystem growth.
- •The proposal raises the revenue allocation to 10% at $10 billion, 15% at $15 billion, and 20% at $20 billion of USDe supply.
- •Governance voting on the proposal is scheduled to continue through September 2.
- •Ethena has also been buying locked ENA from early investors and plans to end the current monthly investor unlock schedule.
The Ethena Foundation has put forward a sweeping overhaul of its token economics that would channel 95% of net revenue into ENA buybacks once the supply of its USDe stablecoin reaches $7.5 billion. The proposal is now open to an ENA tokenholder governance vote.
According to the Foundation, the framework ties ENA value accrual more directly to growth across Ethena's business lines, covering revenue from USDe savings, white-label stablecoins, and its upcoming Ethena product. The proposal arrives as Ethena works to rebuild USDe adoption after the stablecoin's supply declined sharply from its 2025 peak.
Buybacks tied to USDe growth
Under the proposed fee switch, the first buyback threshold sits at $7.5 billion of circulating USDe. At that level, 95% of the net revenue received by the Ethena Foundation would fund programmatic ENA purchases, with the remaining 5% dedicated to ecosystem growth.
The proposed mechanism also increases the revenue allocation at higher USDe supply milestones, under the following schedule:
- 5% of protocol revenue at $7.5 billion of USDe supply
- 10% at $10 billion
- 15% at $15 billion
- 20% at $20 billion
The fee switch analysis indicates that the current proposal would not trigger immediately, because USDe supply remains below the first threshold.
Governance approval remains critical
The Foundation has opened the proposal for governance approval, with voting scheduled to run through September 2. If approved, buybacks would begin once the relevant USDe supply milestones are reached.
The proposal also addresses ENA's token supply dynamics. Ethena has moved to buy locked ENA from certain early investors and plans to end the existing monthly investor unlock structure.
For ENA holders, the change would formalize a clearer link between protocol usage and token demand, but the mechanism is still contingent on USDe expanding enough to clear the stated thresholds. That makes the governance vote and the next stage of USDe growth the main points to watch as Ethena tests whether the new model can operate at scale.
