The Ethena Foundation rolled out a package of governance changes Thursday. The headline item: a proposed fee switch that would steer 95% of net protocol revenue into ENA token buybacks once the USDe synthetic-dollar supply reaches $7.5 billion.
ENA, the protocol’s native token, surged 23% as a broader crypto rally coincided with the overhaul, CoinDesk reported. It was trading around $0.147, according to crypto.news.
The proposal is now open to an ENA holder governance vote. If approved, it would reshape how the protocol channels revenue. Under the fee switch, 95% of net revenue paid to the Ethena Foundation across three core business lines (USDe savings, Ethena’s white-label stablecoins, and the soon-to-launch “Ethena [X]” product) would go toward buying back ENA. The remaining 5% would fund growth. The practical effect is straightforward: a large share of protocol revenue would flow to the token market instead of accruing to the operating entity’s equity holders.
There is a condition. Buybacks would only trigger once USDe supply hits that $7.5 billion milestone, crypto.news reported. Growth of the synthetic dollar has stalled well below that level, making the fee switch a forward-looking lever contingent on renewed minting.
Alongside the fee switch, the Ethena Foundation announced three further changes, all aimed at cutting future sell pressure and redirecting protocol value to the foundation.
First, the foundation said it has bought out all unvested ENA from certain early investors who had sold tokens since the market peaked on Oct. 10, 2025. The purchases were made over the counter during the past two weeks. The buyback targeted investors originally allocated more than 0.25% of ENA’s total supply. Those who had not sold were offered the option to sell locked tokens at their original purchase price. None accepted. One wallet declined to sell. The foundation did not disclose the investors’ identities, the number of tokens acquired, or the transaction values. Ethena’s known early backers include Dragonfly Capital, OKX Ventures, Arthur Hayes’ Maelstrom, Nic Carter’s Castle Island Ventures, Franklin Templeton, and Galaxy Digital, per The Block’s funding data.
The upshot: investors who sold ENA during the assessed nine-month window no longer hold unvested tokens that could hit the market later.
Second, the foundation and lead investors agreed to release all remaining original investor tokens at once, beginning Oct. 5, rather than on a monthly unlock schedule. Team tokens remain locked under their original vesting terms. After the changes, roughly 12% of ENA supply stays locked and unvested, held by the team, the protocol’s community funds, and the foundation.
StablecoinX, one of the two largest ENA holders with about 20% of total supply, remains on a separate lockup schedule under its publicly filed token purchase agreement.
Third, the Ethena Foundation and Ethena Labs reached an agreement in principle on a Master Framework Agreement that would assign substantially all material protocol intellectual property to the foundation and its community, rather than to Ethena Labs equity holders. Economic benefits from the protocol, including proceeds from any future sale of the underlying business, would flow to the foundation. The framework is expected to be published in October. The foundation said it formalizes arrangements that have been in place since the foundation was created.
None of the sources carried a direct quote from a named Ethena official; the announcements were paraphrased as statements from the foundation. The governance vote is live; its end date was not disclosed.
What the proposal does not resolve is the question it was designed to answer. USDe growth has stalled. The fee switch, the centerpiece of the package, only activates at a $7.5 billion supply the protocol has yet to reach. The buyout and unlock overhaul remove a known source of future sell pressure. The buyback mechanism depends on the minting recovery the overhaul is, in part, an attempt to revive.
