Arthur Hayes calls ENA at $1 as USDe enters South Korea, out in UAE

Arthur Hayes, chief investment officer at Maelstrom and a founding advisor to Ethena since 2023, responded with excitement to Upbit’s announcement of new trading support for Ethena’s synthetic stablecoin, USDe. The development comes as Dubai’s financial regulator excluded USDe from its approved stablecoin framework. Hayes, who also serves as a founding adviser to Ethena, posted on social media on X, writing “Giddy up b*tches! it’s time for $ENA = $1.” The token rose over 8% on the news and was trading around $0.238. The Upbit listing went live at 6 pm Korean Standard Time on January 14, 2026, with trading pairs against the Korean won, Bitcoin, and Tether’s USDT across the Ethereum network. How does Ethena’s USDe work on Upbit? USDe is not a regular fiat-backed stablecoin. It uses a delta-neutral structure that combines spot cryptocurrency collateral with offsetting short positions in perpetual futures contracts. It is the third-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, behind USDT and USDC. Last year, an internal glitch in Binance’s platform briefly depegged the token. According to Upbit, “USDe maintains a short position in a derivatives product of the same nominal value while holding cryptocurrency collateral, thereby maintaining stability close to the value of $1.” Upbit also shared the USDe contract address to check when depositing or withdrawing USDe. Hayes has shown conviction through on-chain activity, recently purchasing 1.22 million ENA tokens worth about $257,500 in late December 2025. Dubai says no to USDe The Upbit listing follows the Dubai Financial Services Authority’s (DFSA) update to its Crypto Token Regulatory Framework, effective January 12. The update reserves the “fiat crypto tokens” designation for stablecoins backed by fiat reserves held in segregated accounts with regulated custodians. Elizabeth Wallace, associate director for policy and legal at the DFSA, noted that algo-stablecoins are less transparent regarding operation and redemption. Cryptopolitan reported that stablecoins like USDe would not meet the Dubai International Financial Centre’s definition of a stablecoin, although this did not constitute a ban. Wallace stated that the token would be considered a crypto token. The DFSA’s approved list includes Circle’s USDC and EURC, and Ripple’s RLUSD. To qualify, stablecoins must maintain reserves at least equal to outstanding tokens, denominated in the reference currency, held in highly liquid assets with minimal credit risk. The regulator also requires reserve information to be published and independently verified monthly.