Ethena Launches Global Money App for USDe Payments and Transfers

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 Cointelegraph, the self-custodial Ethena Pay app lets users hold USDe through a dollar-denominated balance, earn as much as 6% in annualized rewards and spend funds through a payment card, while also supporting fiat onramps. The beta rollout covers 48 countries across Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and other regions, although access is initially limited to 400 users and is set to expand weekly, Ethena said in a Tuesday thread on X. Avalanche will serve as the exclusive settlement layer for payments and transfers, while MoonPay-owned Iron provides backend infrastructure. Users can deposit fiat or crypto, with funds converted into USDe, and the app also supports IBAN details for moving money to and from external bank accounts into local currencies. 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. Ethena’s USDe has grown alongside a rally in ENA, the protocol’s governance token. According to Cointelegraph, 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 and hedging strategies, including derivatives positions, to help maintain its peg, and its market capitalization has risen to about $4.1 billion, making it the sixth-largest stablecoin, according to DefiLlama data. Ethena also operates ENA, which has a market capitalization of roughly $1.5 billion. The token has gained about 68% over the past month, though it remains well below 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% after 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.