Ethena was one of the major losers after the October market crash. The protocol’s TVL (total locked value), primarily driven by its yield-bearing stablecoin USDe, decreased by half from $14.8 billion to $7.4 billion.
Over the same period, investors exited USDe in droves. In October alone, $5.7 billion was redeemed from the stablecoin, and this trend has continued for the past two months, totalling $8 billion.
USDe was the most affected because the October crash’s escalated liquidation was partly driven by its temporary depegging on the Binance platform.
USDe lags behind other stablecoins
In fact, a closer look at the yield-bearing stablecoin markets indicated that outflows have been particularly concentrated on the USDe.
In the past 90 days, as USDe faced massive outflows, similar products such as Sky’s sUSDS, Marple’s syrupUSDC and others attracted significant inflows.
ENA’s 62% dip attracts new demand
In other words, after the crash, most investors fled Ethena’s USDe to other rival yield-offering stablecoins. The risk-off was apparent on the ENA, the native token for the Ethena protocol.
After the liquidation cascade, ENA lost $0.5 and slumped 62% to below $0.2 in Q4.
In fact, the trading volumes, as tracked by OBV (On-balance volume) dropped to record lows, underscoring muted interest amid bearish grip.
But the current levels were similar to August 2024 lows and could offer a juicy discounted opportunity if the market rebounds.
Interestingly, Arthur Hayes, founder of BitMEX Exchange, dumped his ETH holdings for ‘high beta DeFi assets’, including ENA.
According to Lookonchain data, Hayes scooped 1.22 million ENA worth $257.5K. But Hayes wasn’t alone.
During the 62% decline, ENA’s supply outside of exchanges climbed higher, unlike the Q1 2025 dip.
This meant there was dip buying as some players took advantage of the discounted window to add more exposure to ENA.
Overall, Ethena emerged as one of the casualties of the October 10 crash, triggering $8B in USDe outflows and a 62% price decline for ENA.
While USDe was yet to front a strong recovery, ENA saw active buying during the dip.
Final Thoughts
- Ethena’s USDe bled $8 billion in outflows since the October 10 liquidation event.
- Although the bearish sentiment dragged ENA down by 62%, key players were dip-buying.
