The Ethena Foundation has initiated a large-scale restructuring of the protocol's economy, putting forward for a vote a radical change to the revenue distribution model. The proposal involves directing nearly all of the ecosystem's net revenue toward a programmatic buyback of the governance token ENA from the open market.
Shift in Priorities: From Distribution to Buyback
If approved by the community, all revenue from Ethena products, including the USDe stablecoin and related financial instruments, will be consolidated and directed exclusively toward the repurchase of ENA. This fundamentally changes the previous model, where profits were distributed among sUSDe holders and partner programs. In essence, we are witnessing a transition to a model of "burning" tokens through market purchases, which historically exerts more direct pressure on the asset's price.
The risk committee has already approved the initiative, and the vote has been launched on the Snapshot platform. However, the foundation emphasizes that the timeline is not fixed, and there are no guarantees the proposal will be adopted.
Value Consolidation and Protection Against Unlocks
In parallel, Ethena Labs and the Foundation have entered into a Master Framework Agreement, under which all of the protocol's intellectual property and rights to generated value come under the organization's control. Management of these assets will be carried out by ENA holders through governance mechanisms, and Ethena Labs investors lose residual rights to cash flows.
A key change in tokenomics is the agreement with major venture investors to cancel future monthly unlocks. This concerns 25% of the fixed ENA supply — 3.75 billion coins. Previously, these tokens were subject to a one-year cliff and a three-year vesting period; now, the unlocked portion of investor assets is removed from the schedule. Meanwhile, team tokens will continue to be released according to the original schedule. Additionally, the Foundation has purchased the remaining locked ENA from several large early investors who had been selling assets over the past nine months, although the details of the deal are not disclosed.
Market Reaction
The news of the restructuring triggered an immediate response: the price of ENA rose nearly 12% in a day, reaching $0.16. For comparison, in April 2024, the asset traded at a peak of around $1.5. The current market capitalization stands at $1.54 billion, and Ethena's TVL is $4.5 billion, of which ~$4 billion is attributed to USDe.
It is worth noting the context: in August 2025, USDe entered the top three largest stablecoins, but within three months, its supply collapsed by more than 50% due to falling yields. This shows how sensitive the protocol is to changes in interest rates.
My analysis: Ethena's initiative is a smart move to protect the asset's price under bearish pressure. The combination of programmatic buybacks and the elimination of future unlocks creates a double positive effect: artificial demand and reduced supply. However, the effectiveness of the model will depend on the sustainability of USDe's yield, which has shown volatility in recent months. If the revenue base continues to shrink, the buyback may prove insufficient to support the price in the long term.