Arthur Hayes eyes Ethena price surge to $1 as major Korean exchanges list USDe

• ENA price has surged 6% as bulls eye a breakout above $0.24.
• Upbit and Bithumb have listed Ethena USD (USDe).
• Arthur Hayes has shared a fresh prediction for the ENA price, noting a potential surge to $1.

Ethena (ENA) surged on Wednesday as cryptocurrencies bounced, and amid major South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges’ listing of the synthetic stablecoin Ethena USD (USDe).

The fresh dose of optimism around Ethena’s governance token ENA saw prominent investor Arthur Hayes express a strong bullish conviction as he predicted a potential spike to $1.

Ethena price gains as Upbit and Bithumb list USDe

South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, have both added support for Ethena’s USDe.

The platforms announced the listings on Wednesday, which means USDe is now supported on two of Asia’s most active trading markets.

Upbit now supports USDe pairs against KRW, BTC, and USDT, while Bithumb confirmed the listing of the USDe/KRW market.

These listings mean enhanced liquidity, accessibility, and adoption of USDe in a market where fiat-to-crypto trading volumes are often substantial.

Upbit’s listing of tokens has historically coincided with a price surge for the respective cryptocurrencies.

ENA, the governance token of the Ethena protocol, could ride this bullish outlook to new highs.

As of writing, ENA traded around $0.24, up 7% in the past 24 hours. Trading volume jumped 160% to over $389 million while USDe saw a 48% increase in volume as  the listings went live.

ENA’s price reached intraday highs of $0.25 amid this volume surge.

Arthur Hayes sees ENA price rallying to $1

Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and an influential crypto investor, is optimistic that the ENA price will go parabolic in the short term.

The entrepreneur, who has previously backed Ethena to explode, shared his latest prediction in a post on X, noting “it’s time for $ENA = $1.”

This aligns with Hayes’ other bold market calls, having accumulated ENA during dips.

His latest commentary suggests that increased exchange support, particularly in high-volume markets like South Korea, could catalyze greater adoption. Upward price pressure on ENA may allow bulls to target the psychological $1 level.

ENA last traded around this level in January 2025, with the overall market downturn seeing prices touch lows of $0.22 in June.

A rebound allowed bulls to retest highs of $0.80, but the area marked a double top pattern and prices slumped to under $0.20 in early Jan. 2026.

Ethena’s ongoing efforts to integrate USDe across major platforms, potentially driving further protocol growth and revenue, could cascade upside momentum to ENA.

If the current levels mark a double bottom, a retest of $0.80 and then $1 is likely.