Whales Bet Big on Ethena as TVL Nears $10B—Is ENA Ready for Liftoff?
Ethena’s native token, ENA, is once again under the spotlight as fresh accumulation activity by large holders signals renewed market confidence.
Despite a recent pullback to around $0.575, the asset’s July rebound and underlying ecosystem strength have positioned it for potential upside in the coming weeks.
In the last month alone, ENA surged over 120%, erasing much of its year-to-date losses and reigniting bullish sentiment. While price action has cooled below the $0.60 mark, the macro trend tells a different story.
Recent on-chain data reveals a wave of accumulation among large investors. Wallets holding between 10 million and 1 billion ENA tokens have collectively added a staggering 1 billion tokens to their balances. These so-called “whale” addresses now control more than 6.3 billion ENA—an indication that some of the most capitalized players are increasing exposure.
This behavior coincides with rising futures open interest, which neared $1 billion at last check. Elevated OI typically reflects heightened investor engagement and growing expectations of future volatility—often a precursor to significant market moves.
Driving much of this momentum is Ethena’s expanding footprint in the DeFi space. According to data from DeFiLlama, total value locked (TVL) on the protocol has soared from under $6 billion earlier this year to nearly $10 billion—a clear sign of growing utility and adoption.
Central to that growth is USDe, Ethena’s yield-bearing stablecoin, which has gained popularity among yield-seeking investors. The token’s regulatory position was further strengthened following the recent passage of the GENIUS Act in the United States, providing additional legal clarity for compliant stablecoin frameworks.
For now, ENA’s short-term trajectory may hinge on broader market conditions, but beneath the surface, strong fundamentals and institutional activity appear to be laying the groundwork for another potential rally.
The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice. Coindoo.com does not endorse or recommend any specific investment strategy or cryptocurrency. Always conduct your own research and consult with a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coindoo and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.
