Deep Dive
1. Fee Switch Activation Prep (15 September 2025)
Overview: This update prepares the protocol to distribute a portion of its revenue to users who stake their ENA tokens. It's a major economic upgrade that changes how value is shared within the ecosystem.
The Ethena Foundation announced that the pre-set conditions for activating a "fee switch" have been met. These conditions, set by the protocol's Risk Committee, included targets for the supply of its USDe stablecoin and total protocol revenue. The final step is for the committee to publish the implementation details, after which ENA holders will vote to activate the mechanism. This transforms ENA from a pure governance token into one that can generate yield directly from protocol fees.
What this means: This is bullish for ENA because it creates a new, direct financial incentive to hold and stake the token, which could increase long-term demand and reduce selling pressure from holders seeking yield. It aligns user rewards with the protocol's financial success.
(Blockworks)
2. Ethena Exchange Points Launch (4 February 2026)
Overview: This initiative introduced a new points system to reward users for trading activity, specifically for using USDe as collateral on partner decentralized exchanges like Ethereal and Hyena.
The program, called "Ethena Exchange Points," runs for six months and distributes 100 million points weekly. These points are awarded on top of any existing trading rewards or yields, effectively boosting potential returns for users who engage with Ethena's synthetic dollar across different trading venues.
What this means: This is neutral-to-bullish for ENA as it aims to stimulate ecosystem activity and increase the utility of USDe. More trading volume can lead to higher protocol revenue, which benefits ENA stakers if the fee switch is active. However, it's a user growth tactic rather than a technical upgrade to the underlying protocol.
(Thiago)
Conclusion
Ethena's latest developments are strategically focused on strengthening its economic flywheel—locking in value for ENA stakers and incentivizing broader USDe adoption—rather than releasing foundational code updates. How will the activation of the fee switch impact ENA's correlation with protocol revenue metrics?