Ethena launches USDe payments app with up to 6% rewards

Ethena launched the self-custodial Ethena Pay app to support payments, savings and cross-border transfers with USDe. Users can hold USDe through a dollar-denominated balance. Users can earn annualized rewards of up to 6%. Users can spend funds through a payment card. The app supports fiat onramps. The beta covers 48 countries across Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and other regions. The initial rollout is limited to 400 users. Ethena said access will expand weekly. Avalanche will serve as the exclusive settlement layer for payments and transfers. Users can deposit fiat or crypto into the app. The app converts deposited funds into USDe. Users can use IBAN details to transfer money to and from external bank accounts in local currencies. MoonPay-owned Iron provides the backend infrastructure. Ethena Pay is not initially available in the US, EU, Canada, Taiwan or South Korea. Ethena expects to expand into those markets during the beta, subject to regulatory approval. Ethena operates the Ethereum-based protocol behind USDe. USDe is a synthetic dollar designed to maintain its value near $1 without relying on traditional banking infrastructure. USDe uses crypto collateral and hedging strategies, including derivatives positions, to help maintain its peg. USDe has a market capitalization of about $4.1 billion, according to DefiLlama data. DefiLlama data ranks USDe as the sixth-largest stablecoin. Ethena also operates ENA, the protocol's governance token. ENA has a market capitalization of roughly $1.5 billion. ENA gained about 68% over the past month 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. The proposal would take effect once USDe's circulating supply reaches $7.5 billion. ENA rose more than 10% after the proposal. ENA gained 27% over the week. ENA recorded about $595 million in trading volume over the past 24 hours. Its volume was up 16% from the previous day. ENA was trading around $0.16 on Tuesday, according to CoinGecko.