Ethena’s recent rally has caught the attention of crypto traders, with ENA jumping 14% in 24 hours. The surge comes as demand for its USDe stablecoin rises sharply, helping push its market cap past $9 billion. But just as the momentum builds, $101 million worth of ENA tokens are set to unlock this week. With large transfers already spotted on exchanges, traders are asking, Is a major sell-off around the corner?

ENA Price Rises as USDe Stablecoin Gains Traction

Ethena’s native token, ENA, is trading above $0.61 after a 14% price increase within a day. The rise follows a month of strong ecosystem growth, including a 140% surge in ENA’s value. The protocol’s USDe stablecoin is now the third-largest by market cap, trailing only Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USD Coin (USDC).

According to DeFiLlama, the supply of USDe on Ethereum has grown by 75% over the past month. The stablecoin’s total market cap now stands at $9.3 billion. This growth reflects strong demand within decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms and has supported broader ecosystem expansion.

Ethena’s total value locked (TVL) has also grown, reaching $9.47 billion. The protocol is now ranked sixth in DeFi by TVL. A mix of high-yield offerings and integrations with new platforms is driving this trend.

Token Unlock Raises Volatility Concerns

Even with the positive cues, investors are gearing up for the short position volatility. Ethena will release the ENA tokens in $101.87 million worth of tokens this week, as per CryptoRank. It is the biggest token release that is going to be unlocked, according to tracked crypto projects.

The data found in blockchain shows that 250 million ENA tokens have already been transferred to the exchanges. Ali, an analyst, echoed this move, stating that it could be profit-taking in advance. The unlock event might bring out some selling pressure in the wake of the rally in July.

There was also the case of an early investor by the name Arthur Hayes, who is said to have sold 7.76 million ENA tokens worth about 4.62 million dollars. Although this cannot be verified concerning the unlock, it contributes to a wider sense of caution involved in the activities taking place over the week.

Arthur Hayes(@CryptoHayes) sold 2,373 $ETH($8.32M), 7.76M $ENA($4.62M) and 38.86B $PEPE($414.7K) in the past 6 hours.https://t.co/1HymJRPhcj pic.twitter.com/MoJNKUjJaQ

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) August 2, 2025

DeFi Metrics Point to Ecosystem Strength

Ethena has witnessed significant growth in terms of performance measures. The protocol experienced a surge of $2.96 billion in inflows in USD in July, compared to a mere 47 million in the previous month of June. The platform fees, too, increased to 36.5 million as compared to 19.96 million during the same period.

These numbers project an increased consumption of Ethena services. The protocol is also in the process of developing a stablecoin compliant with USD with the help of the GENIUS Act. Regulated markets are likely to use the new stablecoin as a way of attracting more users or enhancing compliance.

With the increase in its activities, the Ethena ENA token keeps attracting traders and analysts. The platform’s ability to manage token unlocks while maintaining user growth will be key in shaping its next market phase.

Market Outlook: Investors Watch for Post-Unlock Movement

The amount of trading volume has gone up by 20 percent to above 1.1 billion dollars, meaning that it continues to attract a lot of interest. Predictions point to ENA reaching the support levels at $0.70, though some analysts believe that the cryptocurrency will aim at that particular target.

Nevertheless, the large-scale token unlocking is a decisive factor. Market participants are observing the extent to which the unlocked supply will reach the exchanges and put pressure or not. The days following can be the beginning of the price trend of ENA in the short term.