Ethena launches USDe payments app with up to 6% annualized rewards

Ethena has launched Ethena Pay, a self-custodial money app built around USDe, pushing the synthetic dollar into payments, savings and cross-border transfers. According to Tuesday’s announcement, users can hold USDe through a dollar-denominated balance, earn up to 6% in annualized rewards and spend funds through a payment card. The app also supports fiat onramps. The beta is live in 48 countries across Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and other regions. Ethena said the first rollout is capped at 400 users, with access expanding weekly. Avalanche will serve as the exclusive settlement layer for payments and transfers. Users can deposit fiat or crypto, with funds converted into USDe. Ethena Pay also lets users move money to and from external bank accounts using IBAN details and convert funds into local currencies. MoonPay-owned Iron provides the backend infrastructure. The app is not initially available in the US, EU, Canada, Taiwan or South Korea. Ethena said it expects to expand into those markets during the beta, subject to regulatory approval. The launch comes as USDe continues to scale. Ethena, an Ethereum-based protocol, uses crypto collateral and hedging strategies, including derivatives positions, to help keep USDe near $1 without relying on traditional banking infrastructure. DefiLlama data puts USDe’s market capitalization at about $4.1 billion, making it the sixth-largest stablecoin. Ethena also issues ENA, the protocol’s governance token, which has a market capitalization of roughly $1.5 billion. ENA has gained about 68% over the past month, though it remains well below previous highs. On Friday, the Ethena Foundation proposed directing 95% of the net revenue it receives from Ethena’s core businesses toward ENA buybacks once USDe’s circulating supply reaches 7.5 billion. ENA rose more than 10% after the proposal and gained 27% over the week. CoinGecko data showed ENA trading around $0.16 on Tuesday, with about $595 million in 24-hour volume, up 16% from the previous day.