What to know:
- Ether.fi has emerged as the dominant protocol in restaking, accumulating 2.6 million ETH in deposits.
- The company intends to transition into a neobank, positioning itself against competitors like Revolut by eventually offering services in the U.S.
- Mike Silagadze, CEO of Ether.fi, attributes continued negative sentiment towards Ethereum to hostile narratives from Solana advocates.
A year ago, restaking was among the most talked-about sectors in cryptocurrency, with initiatives like EigenLayer being touted as the next big breakthrough. Fast forward to mid-2025, and the total value locked (TVL) in this domain has plummeted, diminishing the initial excitement surrounding various point farms.
Despite changes in the landscape, Ether.fi remains resilient, providing users with yield opportunities through liquid staking tokens (LSTs) suitable for the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Now the company is poised to advance into neobanking for crypto enthusiasts.
Ether.fi’s Dominance
Ether.fi, operating from the Cayman Islands, reaped benefits early on in the liquid restaking arena by launching a rewarding points farm that allowed early adopters to collect points convertible into a token airdrop.
In an impressive 10-week span at the beginning of 2024, staked ETH surged from 45,000 ETH to 808,000 ETH. Currently, Ether.fi holds around 2.58 million staked ETH, with its closest competitor, Renzo, trailing with merely 380,000 ETH.
In financial terms, Ether.fi boasts a TVL of approximately $5 billion. Though this figure represents a decline from the December peak of $9.4 billion, it is primarily due to the decreased price of ETH rather than actual withdrawals from the platform.
Ether.fi actively engages with its users, striving to maintain their loyalty.
“We know probably half the TVL, as in, we know who they are and we have ongoing conversations with them,” stated Silagadze.
Conversely, Renzo has seen over 60% of ETH withdrawn from its platform since last July, with its TVL declining from 1 million ETH to 378,000 ETH, as reported by DefiLlama.
Transitioning from Restaking Protocol to Neobank
For Silagadze, the restaking service primarily serves as a strategy to attract users and capital, while the ultimate ambition is to establish a neobank that rivals players like Revolut.
“For us, staking was really just a method to build TVL and attract a user base. Our main goal is to create an integrated suite of products that enables users to seamlessly transition away from traditional banking and operate on a crypto-native platform,” he explained.
Ether.fi recently launched a “Cash” Visa card on the Scroll network and Silagadze anticipates this will be the company’s main source of revenue.
The term ’neobank’ has gained traction in the crypto space recently. Last year, lending platform Nexo rebranded as a neobank, and Dakota has quietly launched, targeting crypto users with banking services. Even EOS, known for its prior reputation as a smart contract platform, has shifted towards providing Web3 banking services.
Ether.fi’s strategy includes integrating three products into an upcoming mobile application: Ether.fi stake for the staking protocol, Ether.fi liquid for an AI-driven DeFi strategy manager that extracts optimal yield, and an Ether.fi cash wallet coupled with a credit card.
Staking enterprises eyeing the U.S. market face challenges due to ambiguity in regulatory guidelines. However, Ether.fi remains hopeful that a supportive regulatory environment under the Trump administration will pave the way to offer services to American clients after securing necessary licenses.
“We’re moving ahead with making our staking and cash products available to U.S. users soon. We recently received a favorable legal opinion confirming our ability to proceed with this initiative,” Silagadze shared. Ether.fi is also in the process of obtaining licenses for operations in both the European Union and its home base in the Cayman Islands.
Ethereum’s Ongoing Sentiment Issues
Ethereum once enjoyed overwhelming support during the 2017 bull run and the ICO boom, positioning itself at the forefront of smart contracts as DeFi and NFTs surged between 2020 and 2022. However, the current cycle presents a stark contrast, with Ethereum facing scrutiny over its protracted roadmap amidst increasing focus on meme tokens and faster alternatives like Solana.
Currently, Ether is valued around $1,965, having depreciated by 40% over the past year. In contrast, Solana trades at $131, suffering a lesser decline of 25% during the same timeframe.
“A portion of the negative sentiment is undoubtedly fueled by rival ecosystems. People within Solana are engaging daily to disseminate misleading information about Ether,” Silagadze commented. “If you dissect these arguments, they lack coherence. Yet, such memes have a pervasive influence.”
