ENA has risen as the top performer in the last 7 days driven largely by key developments within its ecosystem and heightened whale activity.

Over the past month, Ethena (ENA) has surged by 96.6%, driving its market capitalization from $420 million in mid-September to $1.14 billion. Most of these gains occurred in the last 7 days, with ENA seeing a 45.1% rise during that period.

Central to ENA’s price rally has been the ongoing expansion of the Ethena ecosystem. Ethena Labs recently passed a pivotal proposal to integrate Ethereal, a decentralized exchange built on the USDe stablecoin, into its reserve management system.

The integration is expected to enhance liquidity and utility for ENA tokens within the Ethena ecosystem, making it a more attractive asset for both users and investors.

In addition, Ethena developers announced last week their intention to invest $46 million of the reserve fund into tokenized assets, further diversifying their financial strategy. The project has also secured backing from major players like BlackRock and Securitize for its new stablecoin, UStb, bolstering confidence in its ecosystem.

Spike in whale activity

Whale activity has played a major role in ENA’s recent price action. According to data from IntoTheBlock, large holders of ENA accumulated 5.4 million tokens — worth $2.3 billion — on Oct. 15, a sharp increase from $1.18 billion in outflows seen on Oct. 9. Whale buying often signals market confidence or accumulation, potentially driving prices upward and boosting investor sentiment.

Furthermore, Smart Dex traders, which are basically wallets known for consistently executing profitable swaps on decentralized exchanges, acquired 1.34 million ENA tokens over the past week, valued at $506,100 at an average price of $0.32 per token.

Price performance and future outlook

On Tuesday, ENA hit a two-month high of $0.455, following a 45.1% gain over the past seven days. However, the token has since pulled back slightly, trading at $0.4179, down 7.5% over the past 24 hours. This dip is likely due to some profit-taking by long-term holders after ENA’s rapid ascent, a common occurrence following a highly bullish day.

Despite this short-term correction, analysts remain optimistic about ENA’s price trajectory.

According to ‘World of Charts,’ ENA has broken out of a broadening falling wedge pattern, a classic signal of a bullish reversal. The analyst expects the token to rally another 150% in the near term.

Similarly, another analyst, Altcoin Sherpa, forecasts that ENA could reach $0.50 in the short term, provided Bitcoin (BTC) remains stable. If the broader market conditions continue to be favorable, ENA may see further gains before encountering any significant pullback.

The substantial growth in ENA’s price has led to a rise in the number of token holders in profit, with ITB data pointing to over 21% of active ENA holders recording gains, a sharp rise from just 5.7% on Oct. 8. This improved profitability could further encourage retail and institutional investors to hold ENA, anticipating further price appreciation.