TL;DR

Ethenas native token has skyrocketed by triple digits in the last 30 days, fueled by major exchange listings and other reasons. Some analysts believe the price could continue pumping in the short term, but the upcoming token unlocks suggest a bearish scenario may also be in play.

ENA Takes Center Stage

There are numerous cryptocurrencies well in the green on a monthly scale, but very few can match the price rally of Ethena (ENA) during that period. The token has exploded by almost 160% and is currently worth approximately $0.67 (per CoinGeckos data).

ENA Price, Source: CoinGecko One possible factor contributing to the bull run is the support from Upbit. Earlier this month, the leading South Korean crypto exchange introduced the ENA/KRW, ENA/BTC, and ENA/USDT trading pairs. Thus, it increased the assets liquidity, improved its accessibility, and provided it with a reputational boost.

It followed the example of Binance, Kraken, KuCoin, and Bybit, which previously embraced ENA. For its part, Coinbase added the token to its roadmap and might officially list it once it meets certain criteria. 

Another element could be the rapid growth of USDe the synthetic stablecoin of the Ethena protocol. The product is pegged to the American dollar, but differs from USDT, USDC, and other market leaders because it is not backed by fiat or other assets. Instead, it relies on a strategy called delta-neutral hedging to maintain its peg.

Over the past month, the market capitalization of USDe has increased substantially, from $5.3 billion at the start of July to its current value of $8.4 billion. 

Last but not least, ENAs price rally could be linked to the recent activity of whales. On July 30, the popular X user Ali Martinez revealed that large investors purchased almost 80 million tokens in just a week. The USD equivalent of the stash is around $53 million (at ongoing rates).

The development reflects strong confidence in the asset and may incentivize smaller players to join the ecosystem as well. Moreover, such accumulation leaves fewer tokens available on the open market, which, combined with non-declining demand, should result in a price pump.

Whats Next?

Multiple analysts believe ENA may continue to rise in the following months. X user McKenna argued the asset has the best looking chart in DeFi, suggesting it may soon climb to the early-2025 levels. Recall that at the start of the year, the price traded well above $1.

For their part, Reetika assumed that ENAs further rally will fully depend on what happens with Ethereum (ETH) once it potentially reaches $4,000. The analyst said this is not the right time to invest in the token, but cautioned traders to stay ready for possible buy-the-dip opportunities.

Meanwhile, over 140 million ENA tokens are scheduled for release in the next seven days. The increased circulating supply may lead to a price pullback if demand doesnt react accordingly.