The Ethena Labs Token (ENA) Surges Following Major Partnership Announcement
The Ethena Labs token (ENA) has surged 15.7% in the past 24 hours, and its weekly total has already surpassed 28%. The price of ENA briefly touched $0.5246 at the time of writing. This surge followed a major announcement from Ethena that changed the stablecoin landscape: a partnership with Anchorage Digital, the only federally licensed crypto bank in the United States.
With this partnership, Ethena shifted the issuance of USDtb, its flagship stablecoin, from overseas to within the US. This wasn’t just a change of location, but a complete transition to a stablecoin scheme subject to federal financial regulations, in accordance with the recently passed GENIUS Act.
Anchorage now assumes control as the official issuer of USDtb, ensuring that the stablecoin is fully compliant, transparent, and legally usable by US financial institutions.
Ethena Aims for Compliance with U.S. Regulations
Ethena is set to become the first stablecoin developer whose product has a clear path to full compliance with the U.S. GENIUS Act. Through our partnership with @Anchorage, the only federally chartered crypto bank, USDtb will move onshore to become a U.S. federally regulated… pic.twitter.com/TVmsIGVZ5Y — Ethena Labs (@ethena_labs) July 24, 2025
ENA Climbs as Investors Embrace Regulated Stablecoin Shift
Unsurprisingly, the market reacted immediately. ENA rose sharply, and USDtb transaction volumes also surged. Moreover, USDtb is backed by assets such as money market funds, some stablecoins like USDC, and other short-term financial products.
Even before this onshore transition, USDtb’s market cap was already hovering between $1.4 billion and $1.5 billion—no small figure for a new project less than a year old.
Apparently, the partnership with Anchorage wasn’t the only factor behind this surge. A few days earlier, as we highlighted, StablecoinX announced plans to raise $360 million to purchase a significant amount of ENA and support the Ethena ecosystem for the long term. The company even plans to list on the Nasdaq with the stock code “USDE” as a show of support for Ethena’s decentralized stablecoin model.
Institutional players appear to be getting comfortable. Meanwhile, CNF noted that the Strata protocol also recently joined the Ethena network. They aim to develop structured finance products based on sUSDe and real-world assets.
Strata allows investors to choose their own risk level, offering measured exposure to the returns from Ethena assets. So, not only is the stablecoin sector being strengthened, but its network is also starting to expand into more complex yield products.
Furthermore, Ethena is also finalizing its exit from Europe. After a temporary ban from BaFin last March, German authorities finally lifted the restrictions. Last June, Ethena and BaFin agreed to a 42-day transition period, giving EU users the opportunity to withdraw USDe before the company shut down its regional operations and transferred its claims to an offshore entity.
In retrospect, Ethena does indeed appear to be solidifying its direction. They left Europe and entered the United States through the most legitimate means: regulated banks and new laws.