Ethena launches Avalanche based Ethena Pay beta

Ethena Labs has launched a beta version of Ethena Pay, a self-custodial payments app built exclusively on Avalanche that lets users receive, hold and spend the synthetic dollar USDe while earning yield and card rewards. The initial release spans 48 countries, though the United States and European Union are excluded while the company works through local regulatory requirements.

The app turns USDe into a payment balance that can receive funds through International Bank Account Number (IBAN) details or direct cryptocurrency deposits. In either case, incoming funds arrive as USDe, according to Ethena. Users can also send money to external bank accounts, with recipients receiving local currency.

Ethena is pairing the payments product with a tiered rewards structure that offers up to 6% annual percentage yield on qualifying USDe balances and as much as 10% additional cashback at selected merchants. The model gives holders a way to retain exposure to USDe while using the balance for everyday transfers and card purchases, rather than moving assets between a separate wallet, exchange account and payment card.

Yield and cashback depend on ENA locks

Ethena Pay has three membership levels: Standard, Pro and VIP. Standard is free, while Pro requires users to lock $2,000 worth of ENA, Ethena’s governance token, or refer 10 people. VIP requires a $10,000 ENA lock or 50 referrals.

Standard members can earn 5% APY on USDe balances up to $5,000. The Pro tier raises that rate to 6% on balances up to $15,000, while VIP members can receive 6% on balances up to $50,000.

The structure places ENA at the center of the product’s higher-value benefits. Users seeking the top yield limits or elevated cashback would need to either take on exposure to the governance token through the lock-up requirement or build referrals. That creates a direct link between the consumer payment app and demand for ENA, while also limiting the highest advertised yields to capped balances.

The Ethena Pay card pays base cashback in AVAX, Avalanche’s native token. Standard members are offered 4% cashback, while Pro and VIP members are offered 4.5% and 5%, respectively. Pro users can also receive up to 5% additional cashback at selected brands, and VIP members can receive up to 10%, with Uber, Spotify and Claude listed among the examples.

Ethena did not specify the full merchant list, the terms governing eligible purchases, or whether cashback rates may vary by country during the beta.

Transfers use IBANs, usernames and local currency payouts

The app supports free transfers between Ethena Pay users through a username or tag, Ethena said. It also lists free bank transfers in US dollars, euros and British pounds. Other bank transfers are priced between 0.05% and 0.1%.

By combining IBAN receiving details with wallet deposits, Ethena Pay is aimed at users who move between bank payment rails and on-chain balances. A freelancer or business receiving a bank transfer, for example, could receive the value as USDe, while a crypto-native user could send assets directly to the wallet. Outbound transfers then convert the balance for payout in the bank recipient’s local currency.

That setup would make the app more useful in markets where users regularly deal with more than one currency, though its practical reach will depend on which local payment rails and currencies Ethena adds during the beta.

The beta is available on iOS and Android. Initial markets include Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Kenya, the Philippines, Singapore, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and Australia. Ethena said it plans to add countries, currencies and features weekly through the testing period.

US and EU expansion remains subject to regulation

Ethena said it expects to add the United States, European Union, Canada, Taiwan and South Korea during the beta, subject to local rules. The company had not yet provided details on the licenses, approvals or individual jurisdictions supporting its initial rollout, saying public documentation would be released during the week.

Regulatory questions are particularly relevant in Europe. In June 2025, Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, BaFin, ordered Ethena GmbH to wind up its USDe business after the company withdrew its application for authorization under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework.

The earlier German action does not determine Ethena Pay’s status in every European market, but it leaves the company entering payments with a record of regulatory scrutiny around USDe’s offering in the region. Any EU launch would require a clearer operating structure than the initial beta announcement provided.

Iron, a stablecoin infrastructure company acquired by MoonPay in 2025, is providing backend support for the app. Ethena said Avalanche is the app’s exclusive blockchain network, bringing the payment product into a chain ecosystem already focused on rapid settlement and low transaction costs.

A payments test for a smaller USDe base

The launch arrives after a substantial contraction in USDe supply. Ethena’s synthetic dollar has about $4 billion in circulating supply, down from roughly $15 billion at its September 2025 peak, according to the figures provided by the company.

USDe differs from reserve-backed stablecoins such as USDT and USDC. Rather than relying primarily on cash and short-dated government securities held in reserve, Ethena uses a combination of backing assets and derivatives positions designed to offset price movements and maintain a dollar value. That design has enabled Ethena to offer yield tied to its underlying strategy, but it also makes the product distinct from conventional fiat-backed payment balances.

Ethena Pay extends that structure from trading and on-chain finance into consumer payments. The beta will test whether users are willing to use a synthetic dollar for salary-like receipts, bank transfers and retail spending, particularly when the service’s most attractive rewards require either ENA locks or referral activity.

With US and EU access unavailable at launch and country-by-country compliance details still pending, the early rollout is likely to be shaped more by execution in its approved markets than by the headline reward rates.