Key highlights:
- ENA jumps 11% as Ethena Foundation unveils major ecosystem changes
- Investor unlocks to end as the Foundation buys back locked ENA
- 95% of net revenue could go toward ENA buybacks
The Ethena price has seen an impressive rise of 11% as the platform announced several changes aimed at reducing token selling pressure and improving value accrual for the ecosystem. The Ethena Foundation’s move comes as the company intends to address concerns around investor unlocks. As the protocol continues to grow, the move also aims to give ENA holders a clearer share of the value it generates.
We are excited to announce four updates regarding the Ethena ecosystem, further details on each point are provided in the blog linked below:
1. Buyout of early investors:
The Ethena Foundation executed a buyout of all locked tokens from certain major seed investors that sold any…— Ethena Foundation (@EthenaFndtn) August 27, 2026
Ethena is taking measures to reduce ENA selling pressure
The Ethena Foundation shared an official blog post on Thursday, revealing major ecosystem changes that will address concerns over investor token unlocks and the protocol's value generation. The changes include four major updates, such as token buybacks from early investors, removing monthly investor unlocks, directing the protocol’s value to the Ethereum Foundation, and proposing a fee switch to fund ENA buybacks.
Ethena buys back locked ENA from early investors
As part of this initiative, the Ethena Foundation has already bought back locked ENA tokens from certain seed investors through OTC transactions. This could reduce the amount of ENA tokens entering the market.
The Foundation focused on investors who were initially allocated more than 0.25% of ENA’s total supply. Thus, the investors were divided into two groups- those who have sold at least one ENA since the market peaked on October 10, 2025, and those who had not sold any tokens during the period.
Value accrual improvement
In addition, Ethena is also working to ensure that more protocol economic value will flow back to the ecosystem. The proposal states that most of Ethena’s key protocol intellectual property would be licensed to the foundation and the ecosystem. The statement read,
“The Ethena Foundation and Ethena Labs have reached agreement in principle on a Master Framework Agreement, whereby IP and ownership of value accrued by the protocol would be assigned to the Foundation exclusively, not to equity holders of Labs.”
Investor unlock schedule accelerated
In particular, the platform intends to reduce the selling pressure surrounding the ENA token. The team announced the acceleration of the remaining investor unlock schedule. This could prevent monthly investor unlocks from creating significant selling pressure on ENA. However, team tokens will continue to follow their existing lockup and vesting schedules.
The Foundation and investors have already agreed to release remaining investor tokens from October 5, instead of continuing with monthly unlocks. Around 12% of ENA supply will remain locked and unvested.
Fee switch boosts ENA buybacks
The fourth proposal includes a fee switch that would use a larger share of protocol revenue for ENA buybacks as USDe’s supply hits key milestones. The move is to support the growth of USDe, while also increasing the value returned to the ecosystem.
Ethena token price surges 27%
The Ethena token responded to the Foundation’s move with a positive note. The ENA token price is up about 11% in the last 24 hours, fueled by positive sentiment regarding the announcements.
The traders’ sentiment is also largely positive, reflecting the broader bullish trend. The 24-hour volume has hit a high of $2.37 billion, with an increase of about 325%. This indicates that the community is increasingly accumulating the token, driven by the positive momentum.
