The crypto market is driving on September 12, 2025, when the ENA token of Ethena has taken centre stage. ENA has a strong potential of a 50 per cent increase to reach $1.20 as a result of whale acquisition, skyrocketing trading volumes, and a solid user base of around 0.77. This surge aligns with an overall market rally, as the total market capitalisation of cryptocurrencies stands at $4 trillion, driven by anticipation of Federal Reserve rate cuts.
The planned departure of Ethena Labs from the USDH stablecoin race of Hyperliquid, combined with the high-profile promotion of its position by BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes and the daring investment thesis of Mega Matrix, makes Ethena a DeFi giant. Ethena is also taking over the stablecoin scene with its synthetic stablecoin USDe, boasting a market cap of 13.2 billion, and therefore, it is a market to look at by both investors and analysts.
Ethena’s Pivot from Hyperliquid’s USDH Signals Strategic Focus
On September 11, through a post on X, Ethena Labs announced that it was withdrawing from the USDH stablecoin proposal by Hyperliquid, resulting in a headline. This relocation was in response to strong community feedback and consultations with validators, a change of direction towards Hyperliquid-native development.
A $5.5-billion decentralised perpetuals exchange called Hyperliquid had bid with stablecoin providers to integrate. Ethena was the first to suggest that USDH be issued on USDtb by Anchorage Digital Bank and backed by the BUIDL fund of BlackRock, with 95% of reserve revenues returned to Hyperliquid.
Ethena was compelled to withdraw due to community concerns about the risks of centralisation and the non-conformity to the native ethos of Hyperliquid. Critics preferred Native Markets, a group focused on the integration of locals, and this is a sign of the increasing popularity of community-based solutions in DeFi.
Ethena currently has its eyes on hUSDe, a Hyperliquid version of its USDe stablecoin, savings products, and card products, as well as derivatives. It is a pivot that, using the balance sheet of USDe, which is $ 13 billion, will increase the liquidity of Hyperliquid without impacting the core assets of Ethena. The move has been greeted with mixed feelings, but many people interpret it as a tactical retreat that places Ethena in an extreme long-term position without overstretching its resources.
Arthur Hayes’ ENA Buying Spree Sparks Market Optimism
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, has further added to the bullish story of ENA by a substantial amount of token purchases. Between September 12, 2021, and September 12, 2021, Hayes purchased 578,956 ENA tokens valued at $ 467,700 on Binance, and currently holds 5.02 million ENA tokens, which are worth $ 3.91 million. His investment, which is tracked on-chain data, precedes the key governance votes and supports his previous prognosis of ENA being able to grow at least 51x by 2028.
ENA is technically in a cup-and-handle formation, which is a positive indication that it will break out of the resistance at $0.84 to reach $0.95 and $1.16, a 1.618 Fibonacci expansion of this price. The current level of support at 0.73 is still critical; further decrease may initiate short-term selling.
The longs have a big market sentiment, as 72.97 per cent of the perpetuals bets are on gains, though there is a negative funding rate of -0.008 per cent that points to caution. The high-profile relocation of Hayes is attracting retail and institutional interest that could help push the price even higher as ENA grows its reach in crypto circles.
Whale Activity and On-Chain Metrics Fuel ENA’s Rally Potential
On-chain data support the positive momentum of ENA, and whale trading and user performance are at multi-week highs. Addresses and volumes of transactions have been booming, and the level of active engagement in the Ethena ecosystem is high. There was an interesting sale of wallet 0x43d…1B4f2, which bought 11.03 million ENA (equivalent to $8.36 million) at Coinbase for $0.7578. This is a typical whale buying action that sometimes leads to price surges.
August 2024 Ethena In February 2024, Ethena introduced its USDe stablecoin, which reinforced its third-largest stablecoin with a market cap of $13.2 billion. Its model of generating yields, which operates as a combination of staking and derivatives hedging, remains popular with users who want alternatives to USDT and USDC.
Even though there is a 0.67% decline over the last 24 hours, ENA has a technical position and whale flows indicative of a recovery to $0.90, $1.00, and even more to $1.201.30. The bullish sentiment of the broader market, which is being supported by Fed rate cut speculations, is a tailwind, although the macroeconomic changes may create volatility. Ethena has the potential to experience significant growth in the evolving DeFi landscape due to its innovative approach to synthetic dollars.
Mega Matrix’s $2 Billion Bet on Ethena’s USDe Dominance
Mega Matrix, a publicly traded holding company that has been digitalising, has taken a large bet on Ethena with projections of $150 million of revenue in 6-12 months and a 6x premium to ENA.
The executive vice president, Colin Butler, considers USDe a potential direct competitor to USDC, and that its yield-generating capabilities make it ideal as collateral in DeFi. Mega Matrix is filing a shelf registration of up to $2 billion to cumulate ENA, providing retail investors with direct exposure to Ethena by way of a publicly traded vehicle.
The key part of this thesis is a so-called fee-switch mechanism introduced by Ethena, approved in November 2024, which will begin to redirect protocol revenues to ENA stakers on reaching specific milestones, such as circulating supply and adoption targets.
The market cap of USDe is growing to $13 billion, and activation appears to be a short-term event, which could lead to considerable growth in token values. This institutional support serves as a bridge between traditional finance and DeFi, amplifying the popularity of Ethena and attracting capital flows that may reshape the dynamics of stablecoins.
What Lies Ahead for Ethena and ENA Investors
Ethena is at a crossroads on September 12, 2025, and the question is whether it can achieve strategic realignment and market momentum together or not. The Hyperliquid withdrawal shows the community spirit of DeFi, and the fact that Hayes and Mega Matrix promote it adds to the credibility. As USDe dominance and ENA technical structure is pointing to a breakout, investors are looking at near-term profitability in a positive macro environment.
The main risks are the regulatory oversight of synthetic stablecoins and the potential of the Fed to cause a market crash with the rate decision. Nevertheless, Ethena has strong fundamentals and a fortress of $13 billion USD, which gives it strength.
On-chain activity and fee-switch activation can be used as the best entry points for investors to follow. Since Ethena redefines the utility of stablecoins with yield and innovation, it is set to be the wave in DeFi, and it is worth watching among crypto enthusiasts.
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