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Ether.fi review 2026
TL;DR
Ether.fi is the largest Ethereum liquid staking protocol. The summer's biggest change touches the core of the product: weETH stopped auto-restaking and became a plain liquid staking token, with restaking moved into a separate weETHs on Symbiotic. Ether.fi's share of assets in EigenLayer has dropped below 1%. Staking TVL is $4.55B on DefiLlama, plus $422M in Liquid. The Cash card crossed $800M in cumulative spending, and on 13 August the protocol rebuilt itself as a non-custodial neobank with tokenized stocks and portfolio-backed loans.
Go to Ether.fiWhat is Ether.fi
Ether.fi is a liquid staking protocol launched in 2023. Unlike Lido, validator keys stay with the user – the model is non-custodial. You stake ETH and get eETH, or the wrapped weETH.
There's something we need to correct from earlier coverage. weETH no longer auto-restakes into EigenLayer. Over the summer the protocol split its products: weETH became a plain liquid staking token, and restaking moved into a separate weETHs built on Symbiotic. Ether.fi's share of assets in EigenLayer has fallen below 1%, down from around half at the start of the year, and the team has signaled it's heading toward a full exit. If you came to Ether.fi specifically for restaking, that's now a different token.
Per DefiLlama on 10 September 2026, staking holds $4.55B, with another $422M in Liquid. The protocol went through a heavy outflow in spring: between 18 April and 21 May it processed exits for 542,792 ETH, nearly a fifth of TVL, and by its own account this didn't extend the broader Ethereum exit queue. One note on the numbers: the previous edition of this review cited $5.3B using a different counting method, so it isn't directly comparable to the figure here. From this edition on we're pulling TVL from DefiLlama only, and naming the source.
On 13 August the Summer release redefined the product. Staking gained company: trading in tokenized stocks and metals, portfolio-backed loans built on Aave on Optimism at around 4% for card spending, top-ups from 30+ currencies, and cashback of 3%, rising to 4% at the top tier. At launch the team cited around 500,000 users and 150,000 active cards. By early September the Cash card had processed over $800M in cumulative spending, about $600M of it in 2026, across roughly 10 million transactions.
On the institutional side: on 4 June Ether.fi placed $100M in Plume's Nest RWA vault, and on 22 July on-chain manager KPK made weETH its main treasury asset, allocating over $25M. The ETHFI token trades around $0.622 with a $601M market cap, and around 97% of supply is already unlocked.
Supported networks
Pros and cons
Pros
- +Non-custodial model – you control your own validator keys
- +Largest liquid staking protocol: $4.55B in staking
- +Cash card: over $800M in cumulative spending and around 10 million transactions
- +Summer release on 13 August: tokenized stocks, metals, and portfolio-backed loans
- +No exploits ever, more than 25 audits
Cons
- –weETH no longer gives you restaking – that's a separate weETHs token now
- –In spring the protocol processed exits for 542,792 ETH, nearly a fifth of TVL
- –Around 97% of ETHFI supply is unlocked – little room left before supply overhang caps out
- –The ecosystem has gotten more complex: eETH, weETH, weETHs, Liquid, card, loans
- –The previous edition of this review used a different TVL methodology – the numbers aren't directly comparable
Fees
ETH staking: no protocol fees. Cash card: $0 annual fee, cashback of 3%, rising to 4% at the top tier, portfolio-backed loans on Aave at around 4%.
Security
Ether.fi has passed more than 25 audits, including work by Certora, and hasn't lost user funds since 2023. We found no exploits, lawsuits, or regulatory action against the protocol over summer 2026. On 14 July the team described moving its security guarantees into immutable contract-level invariants, and weETH earned an A+ risk rating among tokens of its class. The big test was in spring, and it passed: over 33 days the protocol processed exits for nearly a fifth of TVL without disruption. Worth flagging separately: the drop in EigenLayer exposure below 1% – previously the risk of that third-party protocol flowed straight through to weETH holders, and that channel is now nearly closed.
Who it's for
Ether.fi is a solid choice if you want to stake ETH without handing over your keys. The Cash card has gone from a marketing app to a working tool: $800M in spending is well past pilot stage. But if you specifically want restaking for extra yield, get weETHs, not weETH – since summer they're different products.
FAQ
Does weETH still restake into EigenLayer?
No. In summer 2026 Ether.fi split its products: weETH became a plain liquid staking token, and restaking moved into a separate weETHs built on Symbiotic. Ether.fi's EigenLayer exposure has fallen below 1%, and the team has signaled it's heading toward a full exit.
What's Ether.fi's TVL right now?
Per DefiLlama on 10 September 2026: $4.55B in staking plus another $422M in Liquid. The previous edition of this review cited $5.3B using a different counting method, so those figures aren't directly comparable. From here on we're citing DefiLlama data only.
What happened with withdrawals in spring?
After an April exploit at another liquid restaking protocol, DeFi saw a broad outflow. Between 18 April and 21 May Ether.fi processed exits for 542,792 ETH, nearly a fifth of TVL. By the protocol's own account, this didn't extend the broader Ethereum exit queue.
What does the Cash card give you?
It's Ether.fi's crypto card. By early September 2026 it had processed over $800M in cumulative spending and around 10 million transactions, about $600M of it this year. Cashback is 3%, rising to 4% at the top tier. You can spend against your portfolio as collateral: the loan is built on Aave on Optimism at around 4%.
What did the Summer release add?
On 13 August 2026 Ether.fi redefined itself as a non-custodial neobank: trading in tokenized stocks and metals, portfolio-backed loans for card spending, top-ups from 30+ currencies. At launch the team cited around 500,000 users and 150,000 active cards.
CoinMagnetic Team
Crypto investors since 2017. We trade with our own money and test every exchange ourselves.
Updated: September 2026
This article contains affiliate links. Not financial advice. DeFi carries a risk of loss – invest responsibly.