The milestone comes as the protocol ends ENA token incentives and leans on a revenue-funded buyback model instead
Ethena says it has distributed more than $800 million in rewards across its USDe ecosystem since launch. That is a lot of money handed back to users of a dollar-pegged token that only arrived in early 2024.
The timing is interesting. The milestone lands just as Ethena has stopped paying users in its own ENA token and started betting that real revenue, not emissions, can keep the lights on.
Where the money went
The bulk of those rewards flowed to users who staked USDe into sUSDe, the protocol’s staked version of the token. Rewards also went to people who took part in various other activities across the ecosystem.
Research compiled on the protocol puts the figure at more than $750 million since USDe launched. It adds that total rewards reportedly approached or surpassed $800 million, which lines up with Ethena’s own claim.
That reward machine has now been partly switched off. As of September 30, 2026, ENA token incentives for USDe stakers were fully discontinued.
The wind-down was not sudden. Those incentives had already been cut by approximately 85% since 2024 before being phased out entirely.
Yield has not disappeared, though. Average annual percentage yields on sUSDe hovered around 5% in Q3 2026, according to the research findings. That return now has to stand on its own without a token sweetener on top.
A bumpy ride for USDe supply
The supply numbers tell a story of boom, bust and cautious stabilization. USDe’s circulating supply peaked at approximately $15 billion in October 2025.
By late August 2026, that figure had fallen below $5 billion. By mid-October 2026, supply stood at around $4.94 billion.
The fee switch and the ENA buyback bet
In a recent governance vote, Ethena approved what it calls an “ENA fee switch.” The mechanism allows buybacks funded by up to 95% of certain eligible net revenues.
There is a catch. The switch only triggers once USDe supply hits specific milestones, with the first threshold initially set at $7.5 billion.
At around $4.94 billion, USDe would need to grow by more than $2.5 billion before that first trigger kicks in.
Building the distribution network
Ethena has not been sitting still while supply recovers. Several expansions rolled out in 2026 aimed at putting USDe in more places.
The protocol expanded USDe rewards on Aave V4, one of the larger lending venues in decentralized finance. It also added new integrations with Morpho, another lending platform.
On top of that, Ethena introduced beta features for Ethena Pay. The research findings describe these moves as efforts to boost user engagement and widen the ecosystem.
What this means
For ENA holders, the buyback mechanism is real on paper, but it stays dormant until supply climbs well above where it sits today. Anyone evaluating the token should treat USDe supply as the single most important metric to watch, because it determines whether the fee switch ever activates.
For USDe users, the question is whether roughly 5% yield on sUSDe is enough to compete without extra ENA rewards. The research notes that USDe’s appeal against rivals hinges on strategies like the fee switch and partnerships such as Aave.
