Ethena Price Forecast: ENA leads crypto recovery amid steady DeFi TVL

• Ethena leads gains among major cryptocurrencies on Monday, trading above its $0.60 support.
• Ethena’s TVL rises to $9.53 billion, underscoring holder conviction in the ecosystem.
• Ethena’s USDe stablecoin surpasses FSUSD, becoming the third-largest stablecoin by market capitalization.

Ethena (ENA) price posts one of the strongest rebounds among major cryptocurrencies on Monday, underpinned by a strong Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ecosystem and steady retail demand. After correcting to $0.51 support on Saturday, ENA increased 24% to $0.63 before retracing to exchange hands at around $0.61 at the time of writing.

A daily close above the short-term $0.60 support would affirm the bullish grip, increasing the probability of Ethena tagging key resistance levels at $0.70, $0.75 and $1.00.

Ethena flaunts a bullish DeFi ecosystem 

Ethena’s DeFi ecosystem has steadied its growth over the last few months, with its Total Value Locked (TVL) peaking at around $9.54 billion from the $4.72 billion recorded on May 4.

TVL refers to the sum of the value of all coins locked in all the smart contracts across the protocol. Holders often prefer to lock their tokens in smart contracts when intending to hold long-term. 

Staking allows investors to participate in securing the network while earning rewards. Such a steady rise in TVL indicates high investor conviction in the ecosystem. At the same time, it reduces ENA’s circulating and potential selling pressure, paving the way for a price increase.

Ethena DeFi TVL data | Source: DefiLlama 

Ethena’s USDe stablecoin has also experienced significant growth this year, reaching $9.23 billion in market capitalization, according to DefiLlama data. USDe saw the largest growth rate, of over 75%, in the last 30 days, becoming the third-largest stablecoin after Tether’s USDT. 

Ethena’s USDe stablecoin market cap | Source: DefiLlama

Investor interest in Ethena is edging higher. According to CoinGlass data, the futures Open Interest (OI) is back above the $1 billion mark following a drop to $916 million recorded on Sunday. 

OI, which refers to the notional value of all futures or options contracts, peaked at $1.35 billion in July as traders increasingly bet on the price of Ethena rising.

Ethena Futures Open Interest | Source | CoinGlass

Technical outlook: Ethena reclaims key support 

Ethena price holds above support at $0.60 at the time of writing, backed by a robust DeFi ecosystem and rising retail interest. The token also sits above key moving averages, including the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) currently at $0.57, the 100-period EMA at $0.53 and the 200-period EMA at $0.46. In case last week’s decline resumes, these levels would serve as tentative support to prevent ENA from dropping toward $0.40.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) had recovered slightly above 60 before reversing to 58, suggesting possible profit-taking and a shaky risk-on sentiment in the broader cryptocurrency market. 

ENA/USDT daily chart 

Traders should monitor the RSI for a continued drop toward the midline, which could mean a reduction in buying pressure. However, if the RSI resumes the uptrend toward overbought territory, the path of least resistance would remain upward, increasing the chances of ENA extending gains toward the $0.70 and $0.75 levels, respectively.