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Ethena Proposes Replacing 7-Day sUSDe Unstaking Period With Dynamic Cooldown

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As perpetual futures positions shrink to just 11% of USDe’s backing, the protocol argues its unstaking delay no longer reflects the liquidity available to meet redemptions.

Ethena Labs has put forward a governance proposal to replace the synthetic dollar protocol’s static 7-day sUSDe unstaking cooldown with a dynamic model that adjusts based on the composition of USDe’s backing assets.

The proposed framework would introduce cooldown periods of 1, 3, 5, or 7 days, depending on how USDe’s reserves are allocated at any given time.

The timing is notable. Ethena’s deployed capital has fallen to just $791 million, a decline of over 85% from its all-time high. The contraction reflects broader risk-off market conditions, with bulls and bears now nearly evenly matched in the derivatives market, an unusual condition that has made the basis trade far less profitable.

That collapse in demand for long leverage is what makes this cooldown proposal viable. The authors note that at the start of 2025, roughly 93% of USDe’s backing was in perpetual futures positions, making the 7-day window a reasonable safeguard. Today, perpetual futures account for just 11% of backing, with 89% now held in liquid stablecoins and lending positions that are currently outperforming funding rates.

USDe’s market cap fell sharply following the October 10 crash, losing over $5 billion as investors rushed to redeem. The episode served as a major stress test, and the protocol’s ability to meet redemptions during that period is cited in a Blockworks Advisory analysis on the forum as evidence that the system performs well under pressure.

The proposal also includes safeguards to prevent the shorter cooldown from creating problems during sudden stress events. If daily unstaking requests exceed twice the 14-day rolling average while 3-day coverage simultaneously falls below 1.5x, the cooldown automatically extends by one day.

In short, with the protocol now sitting on a much more liquid reserve base, the argument is that locking users into a week-long wait no longer matches reality.

The protocol’s ENA token was mostly unchanged on the news, trading at around $0.10, or a $900 million market capitalization, according to Coingecko. However, it’s already down more than 50% this year.

ENA Chart

This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.

BitMine Buys 5,000 ETH From Ethereum Foundation in $10.2M OTC Deal

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The Ethereum Foundation has finalized an over-the-counter (OTC) sale of 5,000 Ether to BitMine Immersion Technologies, a transaction worth about $10.2 million based on the agreed price of $2,042.96 per ETH.

In a Saturday post on X, the foundation said proceeds from the sale will support core operations, including protocol research and development, ecosystem growth initiatives and community grant programs. The onchain transfer will originate from an Ethereum Foundation Safe multisignature wallet.

BitMine, a publicly traded company on the NYSE American under the ticker BMNR, has emerged as one of the largest corporate holders of Ether (ETH). Chaired by Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee, the firm holds more than 4.5 million ETH worth roughly $9.3 billion, according to industry treasury trackers.

Top 6 Ether treasury firms. Source: Ethereum Treasuries

The company has steadily accumulated Ether since mid-2025, following a strategy similar to Strategy’s Bitcoin (BTC) accumulation model.

Related: Ether accumulation data predicts rally to $2.8K, but there’s a catch

EF conducts second corporate ETH OTC sale

The transaction marks the second time the Ethereum Foundation has sold ETH directly to a corporate treasury buyer via an OTC deal. In July 2025, the organization sold 10,000 ETH to SharpLink Gaming at an average price of $2,572.37, a transaction valued at about $25.7 million.

These periodic sales are part of the Ethereum Foundation’s treasury management framework introduced in June 2025. Under that policy, the organization periodically converts a portion of its ETH holdings to maintain a fiat-based operating reserve. The framework targets annual spending equal to roughly 15% of treasury holdings while maintaining a multi-year operating runway.

The announcement comes shortly after the foundation began staking a portion of its treasury, with plans to deploy around 70,000 ETH into validators using open-source infrastructure.

Related: Ethereum accumulation wallets jump 30%: Will ETH price follow?

EF publishes mandate outlining its role

This week, the Ethereum Foundation released a new mandate outlining its role in stewarding the Ethereum ecosystem, emphasizing decentralization and user sovereignty over assets and data. The document states that Ethereum should remain censorship-resistant, open source and privacy-preserving while scaling to support global adoption.