【Must-See Analysis】💥💥💥💥💥 After ENA doubles in ten days: subsidies shut off, early unlocks enabled—how long can the uptrend last?
👉 On September 25, Ethena’s official account tweeted that it will move USDe’s basis strategy to Binance’s tokenized U.S. stocks and perpetuals. The next day it also issued an announcement saying that starting from the end of this month, all token incentives and inflation tied to USDe growth will be stopped.
👉 In August this year, the Ethena Foundation stated that starting October 5, 2026, all remaining original investors’ unlocks will be completed early; after that, no investors’ tokens will remain in a locked state. Team tokens will still follow the original locking and vesting schedule. The Foundation’s stated goal is to eliminate the shadow of continuous supply created by monthly VC unlocks.
The original plan was linear monthly vesting. After the investor cliff unlock period ended in April 2025, investor tranches were about 78.125 million ENA per month, released on the 5th of each month—originally planned to continue until March 2028. Core contributors were about 93.75 million ENA per month, released on the same day. Foundation tranches were about 40.625 million ENA per month, released on the 2nd of each month. After the August reform, the investor vesting schedule was canceled: for the originally planned remaining ~17 months from November 2026 to March 2028, the investor tranches were merged into a single release on October 5, meaning investor unlocks ended about 17 months earlier than originally planned.
👉 In addition, one of ENA’s largest holding addresses, StablecoinX, holds about 3.03 billion ENA—roughly 20% of total supply. Under the original PIPE transaction terms, it had a 48-month lockup period. On September 14, StablecoinX, together with Ethena OpCo and the Ethena Foundation, signed a waiver letter. In subsequent Form 8-K disclosures, it stated that starting October 5, the lockup, vesting, and installment-unlock restrictions on any ENA it holds or is to deliver will be permanently removed. The dates align with the release date announced by the Foundation to other holders. Removing restrictions does not mean the tokens can be freely sold. The documents make it clear that the tokens remain held as inventory, and any sale, transfer, or disposition requires the Foundation’s prior written consent. If the sale is due to working capital or strategic needs, at least five business days’ advance written notice is required, and the Foundation has the right to purchase on a priority basis at the proposed price.
With only one week left before a major unlock, the day of unlocking may well be the moment when the market signals its stance with capital.
👉 On September 25, Ethena’s official account tweeted that it will move USDe’s basis strategy to Binance’s tokenized U.S. stocks and perpetuals. The next day it also issued an announcement saying that starting from the end of this month, all token incentives and inflation tied to USDe growth will be stopped.
👉 In August this year, the Ethena Foundation stated that starting October 5, 2026, all remaining original investors’ unlocks will be completed early; after that, no investors’ tokens will remain in a locked state. Team tokens will still follow the original locking and vesting schedule. The Foundation’s stated goal is to eliminate the shadow of continuous supply created by monthly VC unlocks.
The original plan was linear monthly vesting. After the investor cliff unlock period ended in April 2025, investor tranches were about 78.125 million ENA per month, released on the 5th of each month—originally planned to continue until March 2028. Core contributors were about 93.75 million ENA per month, released on the same day. Foundation tranches were about 40.625 million ENA per month, released on the 2nd of each month. After the August reform, the investor vesting schedule was canceled: for the originally planned remaining ~17 months from November 2026 to March 2028, the investor tranches were merged into a single release on October 5, meaning investor unlocks ended about 17 months earlier than originally planned.
👉 In addition, one of ENA’s largest holding addresses, StablecoinX, holds about 3.03 billion ENA—roughly 20% of total supply. Under the original PIPE transaction terms, it had a 48-month lockup period. On September 14, StablecoinX, together with Ethena OpCo and the Ethena Foundation, signed a waiver letter. In subsequent Form 8-K disclosures, it stated that starting October 5, the lockup, vesting, and installment-unlock restrictions on any ENA it holds or is to deliver will be permanently removed. The dates align with the release date announced by the Foundation to other holders. Removing restrictions does not mean the tokens can be freely sold. The documents make it clear that the tokens remain held as inventory, and any sale, transfer, or disposition requires the Foundation’s prior written consent. If the sale is due to working capital or strategic needs, at least five business days’ advance written notice is required, and the Foundation has the right to purchase on a priority basis at the proposed price.
With only one week left before a major unlock, the day of unlocking may well be the moment when the market signals its stance with capital.