Arthur Hayes, co‑founder of BitMEX and crypto investment firm Maelstrom, has been actively accumulating Ethena’s governance token ENA, purchasing nearly $1 million worth over the past two days, according to blockchain data from Arkham Intelligence.
Hayes’ ENA purchases and trading history
On Wednesday, Hayes bought 578,956 ENA tokens valued at roughly $473,000, following earlier tranches totaling about 672,800 ENA ($521,000) earlier in the week. Combined, he has acquired 1.25 million tokens worth about $995,000 in a 48‑hour span.
This comes after he sold 7.76 million ENA in July at $0.595 for a $1.65 million profit, then re‑entered in early August by purchasing 2.14 million ENA for $1.75 million at $0.816. Hayes’ trading patterns reflect his conviction in the project’s growth potential even as he actively takes profits when conditions favor.
ENA price and Binance USDe listing
Ethena’s ENA token has surged strongly, rising more than 20% over the past week to touch $0.87 on Tuesday, its highest since January. ENA was trading near $0.80 at press time.
The momentum coincided with Binance listing Ethena’s USDe stablecoin, a synthetic dollar token with a market cap of about $13 billion. Trading pairs for USDe/USDC and USDe/USDT went live on Sept. 9. Withdrawals began the next day.
The listing paves the way for Ethena to activate its long‑awaited “fee switch”, a protocol mechanism that shares revenues with ENA holders. Hayes has publicly projected on his X account; this could unlock as much as $500 million in ENA buybacks.
With the Binance $USDE listing $ENA fee switch is going to get turned on. That unlocks $500m of buybacks. LET'S FUCKING GO!
— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) September 9, 2025
According to Token Terminal data, Ethena generated $54 million in revenue during August and has surpassed $480 million in cumulative revenues since its launch in late 2023.
Ethena ecosystem expansion
Beyond USDe, Ethena has rapidly grown into the largest non‑fiat‑backed dollar asset, with total value ballooning from $5.5 billion in July to $12.9 billion by early September.
The protocol has also announced plans for a native stablecoin on MegaETH, a new Ethereum scaling network, and is eyeing opportunities to participate in Hyperliquid’s USDH stablecoin ticker bid.
Analyst David Lawant of FalconX described Ethena’s USDH proposal as “a strong bid from one of crypto’s fastest‑growing and most impressive ecosystems.” Ethena is pledging to collateralize USDH with reserves from BlackRock’s BUIDL fund and allocate 95% of revenues to Hyperliquid validators.
The USDH stablecoin vote context
Hyperliquid validators are set to vote Sunday on which project will secure the USDH ticker. Alongside Ethena’s bid, Paxos, backed by PayPal, has emerged as a major contender, revising its proposal to pledge more reserve yield to Hyperliquid’s Assistance Fund. On Wednesday, Paxos announced it had received an offer from Kraken to list USDH and HYPE from day one.
Meanwhile, Native Markets, a newer entrant, remains the live betting favorite. Data from Myriad prediction markets show it with over 90% odds of winning.
Hayes’ ENA purchases therefore appear as personal positioning rather than a decisive influence on the USDH outcome, according to Kirby Ong, founder of HypurrCollective. Ong noted the deciding factors will hinge more on validator alignments and staker signals than on any one individual’s holdings.
Technical outlook for ENA
Chart data shows ENA has been trading in a rising channel since late August. On Tuesday, it broke above resistance around $0.83, with Bollinger Band expansion pointing to heightened volatility and bullish momentum.
Indicators:
- RSI above 76, signaling overbought conditions but consistent with strong trends.
- On‑balance volume rising steadily, suggesting sustained buyer demand.
Analysts caution that while momentum remains positive, pullbacks are possible if speculative fervor cools after the USDH vote.
Summary
Arthur Hayes’ renewed accumulation of ENA highlights growing attention on Ethena’s ecosystem ahead of a critical governance milestone in Hyperliquid. With Binance listing USDe, fee switch activation, and protocol revenues climbing, Ethena has positioned itself at the forefront of the alt‑stablecoin landscape.
At the same time, questions remain over how validator politics will decide the USDH ticker, with Native Markets still the favorite and Paxos offering regulatory assurances. Regardless of the vote outcome, Ethena’s rapid expansion and Hayes’ public bet continue to fuel speculation around ENA’s upside potential.
Matvii Diadkov
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