Ethena launches USDe payments app, offers 6% rewards

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The self-custodial app brings USDe into everyday payments, savings and cross-border transfers, with annualized rewards of up to 6%.

Ethena has launched a global money app built around its USDe synthetic dollar, expanding the crypto-native asset into everyday payments, savings and cross-border transfers.

According to Tuesday’s announcement, the self-custodial Ethena Pay app allows users to hold USDe through a dollar-denominated balance, earn as much as 6% in annualized rewards and spend funds through a payment card, while supporting fiat onramps.

The beta rollout includes 48 countries across Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and other regions, though the initial rollout is limited to 400 users, with access set to expand weekly, Ethena said in a Tuesday thread on X. Avalanche will serve as the exclusive settlement layer for payments and transfers.

Users can deposit fiat or crypto, with funds converted into USDe (USDe). The app enables using IBAN details to move money to and from external bank accounts into local currencies. MoonPay-owned Iron provides backend infrastructure.

Ethena Pay is not initially available in the US, EU, Canada, Taiwan or South Korea, though Ethena expects to expand into those markets during the beta, subject to regulatory approval.

Related: Chelsea FC gets a stablecoin sponsor after UK FCA warning to clubs

Ethena is an Ethereum-based protocol behind USDe, a synthetic dollar designed to maintain its value near $1 without relying on traditional banking infrastructure.

USDe uses crypto collateral alongside hedging strategies, including derivatives positions, to help maintain its peg . The asset has grown to a market capitalization of about $4.1 billion, making it the sixth-largest stablecoin, according to DefiLlama data .

Ethena also operates ENA, the protocol’s governance token, which has a market capitalization of roughly $1.5 billion. The token has rallied sharply over the past month, gaining about 68%, but remains well below its 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% following the proposal and gained 27% over the week.

The token recorded about $595 million in trading volume over the past 24 hours, up 16% from the previous day, and was trading around $0.16 on Tuesday, according to CoinGecko.

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