Arthur Hayes Drops $1.5M on ENA After Upbit Listing

• Arthur Hayes accumulated 4.2 million ENA tokens worth $1.5 million through Binance, Galaxy Digital, and Wintermute.

• Ethena’s ENA token surged 50% after listing on Upbit, Korea’s largest crypto exchange.
  
• Conor Ryder said Ethena could generate over $1B in revenue, with 81% share of the synthetic dollar market.
  

Arthur Hayes purchased $1.505 million worth of Ethena (ENA) tokens shortly after the token was listed on Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange. The transactions occurred within a 24-hour window, as revealed by on-chain analyst @EmberCN on X. The wallet linked to Hayes received a total of 4.2 million ENA through three major platforms.

First, Hayes transferred 755,000 USDC to Binance and withdrew 2.1 million ENA. He then sent 502,000 USDC to Galaxy Digital, receiving 1.4 million ENA.

 Finally, he moved 248,000 USDC to Wintermute in exchange for 700,000 ENA. All transactions occurred amid a broader uptick in market interest following ENA’s addition to Upbit’s KRW, BTC, and USDT trading pairs.

ENA Price Surges to $0.33 Post-Listing

Soon after Upbit listed ENA, the token jumped from $0.22 to $0.33, marking a 50% increase. Hayes acknowledged the development in a post, writing, 

“ENA listed on largest Korean exchange. It’s time for liftoff!” 

The listing, coupled with his  accumulation, coincides with his public stance on an approaching altcoin bull cycle led by Ethereum.

Conor Ryder, Head of Research at Ethena, claimed the protocol could generate over $1 billion in revenue, pointing to its dominance in the synthetic dollar sector. In a post on X, Ryder stated, 

“Synthetic dollars/perp funding rates are one of the few opportunities in the industry today that can generate >$1bn of revenues.” 

He emphasized that while most crypto sectors face thousands of competitors chasing small margins, Ethena leads with over 80% of the market share and fewer than 30 rivals.

A chart published by Ethena shows the protocol’s 81% market share in the synthetic dollar space, far outpacing sectors like RWA (BlackRock with 22%), liquid staking (Lido at 52%), and lending (Aave at 45%). Despite the synthetic dollar sector having only 29 protocols, Ethena already holds a dominant position. Ryder concluded that “billions will flow to the winner,” underlining Ethena’s lead in a niche with high cashflow potential and low competition.