Ethena has reduced the primary-market fee for minting USDe with USDT to 0 basis points, extending an earlier zero-fee policy introduced for USDC. The change removes Ethena’s protocol-level mint charge for both major stablecoin entry routes, lowering the cost for approved participants that create USDe directly through the protocol.
In its official fee update, Ethena said the decision followed USDC-USDT secondary-market pricing returning to parity after USDC mint fees were previously reduced. The protocol’s live fee dashboard confirms that direct minting and redemption remain available only to onboarded users. The zero-fee structure applies to the primary USDe issuance channel rather than ordinary secondary-market trading.
Following the recent reduction of mint fees on USDC to 0bps, USDC:USDT secondary market pricing is now at parity.
We are pleased to share USDT mints for Ethena USDe are now also free at 0bps for all onboarded mint and redeem users.
Mint and redeem fees remain subject to change… https://t.co/XA3ndJflIV pic.twitter.com/tav2kpNo7d
— Ethena (@ethena) August 24, 2026
Zero-Fee Minting Reduces Primary-Market Friction
Before the adjustment, USDT minting carried the relevant swap cost plus an additional 2 basis points. Moving that rate to 0 bps eliminates the protocol-level surcharge for authorized users creating USDe with USDT. For large minters and market makers, even small basis-point reductions can become meaningful when repeatedly moving substantial amounts of capital between stablecoins and USDe.
The change does not make every USDe transaction cost-free. Ethena’s official documentation states that users still pay gas and applicable execution costs, while its dashboard notes that USDT redemption costs reflect the expense of swapping USDT into USDC. Minting fees, redemption expenses and blockchain transaction costs therefore remain separate components of the total cost of interacting with USDe.
Ethena’s official USDe documentation explains that direct minting and redemption are restricted to approved parties in permitted jurisdictions that complete KYC/KYB screening and receive whitelisted access. Other users can acquire USDe through external liquidity venues. The fee reduction consequently benefits the protocol’s authorized primary-market participants rather than automatically giving every USDe holder direct zero-cost issuance access.
Fee Policy Remains Responsive to Market Conditions
Primary-market access plays an important role in USDe’s price mechanics because approved users can mint or redeem when secondary-market pricing diverges from the protocol’s reference value. Ethena’s peg-arbitrage documentation describes this process as a mechanism through which authorized participants can respond to price dislocations across centralized and decentralized markets. Lower entry costs can make that arbitrage channel more efficient when USDe trades away from its target value.
The new pricing should not be viewed as permanent. Ethena said mint and redemption fees can change again depending on external market pricing, while its Mint User Agreement gives the company discretion to modify transaction charges. The 0-bps USDT rate is therefore a current operating parameter rather than a fixed feature of USDe’s design.
For now, the adjustment gives onboarded participants cheaper access to USDe through both USDT and USDC. The more meaningful test will be whether lower primary-market friction translates into deeper liquidity and more efficient USDe price alignment without requiring Ethena to restore higher fees as market conditions change.
