Ethena Pay launched a self-custodial payments app on September 1, built exclusively on Avalanche and centred on the USDe stablecoin. The beta pairs a USDe balance with daily rewards up to 6% and AVAX cashback up to 5%, though both are capped by account tier, and it excludes the United States and European Union.
Ethena Pay went live in beta on September 1 as a self-custodial payments app built exclusively on Avalanche, putting Ethena's USDe stablecoin at the center of a consumer spending product. The app supports transfers, bank withdrawals and virtual Visa card payments while users retain custody of their assets.
USDe funds the balance, Avalanche hosts the app
USDe serves as Ethena Pay's dollar balance. According to Ethena Pay's FAQ, users can transfer funds, withdraw to a bank and pay through a virtual Visa card while keeping custody of their assets. The beta is self-custodial and runs exclusively on Avalanche, so its payment and rewards functions initially operate on one network rather than several.
Rewards and cashback are capped by account tier
Ethena Pay advertises total rewards of up to 6% annually, paid daily in USDe. That headline rate comes with balance limits: Standard accounts qualify on up to $5,000, Pro accounts on up to $15,000 and VIP accounts on up to $50,000. Balances above those thresholds are not shown to earn the same rate.
Card cashback works separately from the USDe yield. Cashback on qualifying spending is paid in AVAX and ranges from 4% for Standard users to 5% for VIP users, with tiered monthly spending bands and exclusions set out in the FAQ. Separate reporting by The Block said VIP users could receive up to 10% cashback at selected brands, a merchant-specific offer rather than a replacement for the 5% base cap on general spending.
Beta reaches 48 countries, skips the US and EU
Ethena Pay's beta initially covers 48 countries, according to The Block, but excludes the United States and the European Union. That leaves its early footprint broad in country count while omitting two major regions for consumer financial products.
For Ethena, the launch expands a consumer-payments push at a time when USDe's reported circulation stood at about $4 billion, down from an approximately $15 billion peak in September 2025.
Source: Crypto Daily
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