Key Points
- Ethereum DeFi protocol Ethena Labs announces 750 million ENA tokens airdrop.
- Ethena Protocol is focused on generating yield from ETH derivative funding rates.
- This airdrop aims to incentivize user participation and distribute tokens to the community.
Ethena Labs is a decentralized finance protocol on Ethereum, and ENA is its governance token. The project announced on X the first step in decentralizing the protocol with the launch of ENA:
We are excited to announce the first step in decentralizing the Ethena protocol with the launch of: $ENA pic.twitter.com/Xs7vvfmEEP
— Ethena Labs (@ethena_labs) March 27, 2024
Ethena Labs also notes that the launch of ENA brings the project closer to delivering its vision of the “holy grail” – Internet Money.
The launch of $ENA brings us one step closer to delivering our vision of the holy grail:
Internet Money
Full details in the post below:https://t.co/ZL18e2QLrV
— Ethena Labs (@ethena_labs) March 27, 2024
Ethena Labs has recently announced that they will be distributing 750 million ENA tokens to users who hold “shards.” These shards represent the engagement of users with the protocol.
The airdrop will account for 5% of the total supply of 15 billion ENA tokens, and the number of tokens each user receives will be based on the number of shards accumulated by April 1st.
In the official announcement, they revealed April 2 as the beginning of Ethena Protocol’s decentralization:
“We are excited to announce that April 2nd 2024 will mark the beginning of the decentralization of the Ethena protocol, with the launch of Ethena’s native token, ENA.”
In order to be qualified for the airdrop, users have to make sure that their USDe, the synthetic dollar that is pegged to the US currency is staked or held within the Ethena Protocol. All eligible participants will receive their ENA tokens on April 2 and they will become available on centralized crypto exchanges.
Ethena Labs raised $20.5 million in funding in 2023
Ethena Labs managed to successfully raise $20.5 million in funding during the past year via two funding rounds.
Galaxy Digital, OKX, Dragonfly, Binance Labs, and Bybit, among others, are the most important participants in these rounds, leading to a valuation of $300 million for the token maker.
The airdrop announcement follows the Ethena Shard Campaign, which is an event that encouraged crypto fans to collect shards by taking part in activities on the Ethena Protocol.
To summarize:
– The Shard Campaign concludes April 1st
– ENA can be claimed on April 2nd
-5% of ENA supply will be airdropped to users, before our second campaign begins
– Any user who unstakes or sells USDe before this date will not be eligible for the airdrop
– Listings on… pic.twitter.com/z9kjTJdGFq
— Ethena Labs (@ethena_labs) March 27, 2024
According to Ethena Labs, during the campaign, the value of USDe reached $1.3 billion, making it the fastest USD-denominated asset to surpass the $1 billion milestone.
“April 1st marks the end of the Ethena Shard Campaign, which ran for a duration of just 6 weeks in total
One of the shortest pre-token campaigns to date
USDe supply stands at $1.35bn today
This represents the fastest USD-denominated asset to reach >$1bn supply ever in crypto.”
Governance role and tokenomics
ENA token holders have voting rights within the Ethena Protocol. They can participate in proposals and decisions regarding the future development of the protocol.
The total supply of ENA tokens is not specified publicly available sources, but we know that 750 million tokens will be distributed via the airdrop.