ether.fi

ether.fi is a decentralized liquid restaking protocol and crypto-native financial platform that enables users to save, grow, and spend their crypto assets. As the largest liquid restaking protocol on Ethereum with over $3 billion in total value locked (TVL), ether.fi provides staking rewards while maintaining liquidity through its eETH and weETH tokens. The platform has evolved into a comprehensive "DeFi bank" offering staking, automated investment vaults, and a Visa credit card—all built on non-custodial principles.

Company Overview

ether.fi was founded in December 2022 by Mike Silagadze (CEO) and Rok Kopp in George Town, Cayman Islands. Silagadze is a serial entrepreneur who previously founded Top Hat, a student engagement software company he grew to 500 employees and $60 million in annual revenue before selling in 2021. He purchased his first Bitcoin in 2011 and transitioned to full-time crypto in 2021 after witnessing DeFi's development.

The company raised $32.3 million across multiple funding rounds:

• Series A (February 2024): $23M led by Bullish Capital and CoinFund
• SAFE Round (Late 2023): $4M
• Seed Round (February 2023): Undisclosed

Key Investors:

• CoinFund
• Bullish Capital
• OKX Ventures
• Foresight Ventures
• Consensys
• Amber Group
• Draper Associates
• Bankless Ventures
• North Island Ventures
• Version One Ventures
• Chapter One
• Node Capital

ether.fi reported $26 million in revenue in 2024 with approximately $2 million profit. The company projects $45-90 million in revenue for 2025, depending on ETH price.

Products & Services

Stake

ether.fi's core product is liquid restaking, enabling users to stake ETH, BTC, or stablecoins while receiving liquid tokens for DeFi use.

Liquid Restaking Tokens:

• eETH: Rebasing ERC-20 liquid staking token (1:1 with ETH)
• weETH: Wrapped eETH for DeFi compatibility (non-rebasing, value-accruing)
• eBTC: Liquid restaking for Bitcoin
• eUSD: Stablecoin staking with rewards

How It Works:

1. Deposit ETH, BTC, or stablecoins
2. Receive liquid tokens (eETH/weETH/eBTC/eUSD)
3. Earn staking rewards + EigenLayer restaking rewards
4. Use liquid tokens across 400+ DeFi integrations

Key Features:

• Non-custodial: Users maintain control of validator keys
• Native restaking via EigenLayer
• No lockup periods (instant liquidity via pool)
• 20,000+ Node Operators globally
• Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) for resilience

Liquid (Strategy Vaults)

Automated DeFi strategy vaults that put assets to work:

• Auto-rebalancing across protocols
• Auto-compounding rewards
• Multiple vault strategies for ETH, BTC, and stablecoins
• Optional Nexus Mutual coverage available
• Deposit and withdraw anytime

DeFi Integrations:

• Aave ($5B+ TVL)
• Pendle ($10M+ TVL)
• Gearbox ($2M+ TVL)
• And 400+ more protocols

Cash (Visa Credit Card)

A DeFi-native Visa credit card launched on the Scroll L2 network in partnership with Rain infrastructure:

Card Features:

• Up to 15% cashback on purchases
• Non-custodial: Card connects directly to your wallet
• Borrow USDC against crypto collateral
• No need to sell crypto to spend
• Apple Pay and Google Pay compatible
• Accepted at 100M+ Visa locations worldwide
• Physical and virtual cards available (free)
• Contactless payment supported
• 1% FX fee on foreign transactions
• 2% ATM withdrawal fee

Supported Assets:

• USDC (yield-bearing stablecoins)

Cashback Tiers:

Tier	Cashback	Monthly Cap
Core	2%	$1,000
Luxe	2.5%	$1,000
Pinnacle	3%	$2,500
VIP	3%	Higher limits

Cashback is paid in SCR tokens (Scroll's native token).

The Club (Membership Program)

A loyalty and rewards program offering:

• Reward boosts for members
• Crypto event tickets and lounge access
• Airport companion lounge access
• Luxury hotel discounts (up to 65% off)
• IBAN/SWIFT integration (coming soon)
• Concierge services
• Crypto concierge (coming soon)
• Priority support (24/7 live chat and email)
• Price protection up to $2K
• Purchase protection up to $10K
• Extended warranty up to $10K
• Auto rental insurance
• Family member cards with controls (coming soon)

Referral Rewards:

• 1% cashback on referral purchases
• 10% points on their deposits

Loyalty Points:

• Spending: 3,000 points per $1,000 spent
• Staking: 3 points/day per $1,000 staked
• Liquid Vaults: 9 points/day per $1,000 staked
• sETHFI holding: 20 points/day per 1,000 sETHFI

Institutional Staking

White-glove staking services for institutions:

• Custom custody integrations (Fireblocks, BitGo, etc.)
• Dedicated account management
• ether.fi Fund for fiat-based ETH investment
• Compliance-ready infrastructure
• Transparent reporting

Corporate Cards

Business-focused card programs with:

• Multi-user card management
• Expense tracking
• Treasury optimization
• Crypto-to-fiat spending

ETHFI Token

ETHFI is ether.fi's governance token launched in March 2024:

Token Details:

• Total Supply: 1 billion ETHFI
• Initial Circulating: 115.2 million (11.52%)

Token Distribution:

• Airdrop (Users): 13.3% (Season 1: 7.5%, Season 2: 5.8%)
• Investors & Advisors: 32.5% (2-year vesting)
• Core Contributors: 23.26% (3-year vesting)
• Treasury: Remaining allocation
• Binance Launchpad: 2%

Token Utility:

• Protocol governance voting
• Treasury management decisions
• Protocol fee decisions
• StakeRank status improvement
• Future value accrual mechanisms

sETHFI: Staked ETHFI for enhanced loyalty point earning

Security & Audits

Audit Partners:

• Certik
• Certora
• Hats Finance
• Nethermind
• Omniscia
• Solidified
• Zellic

Security Features:

• Open-source smart contracts on GitHub
• Bug bounty program on Immunefi
• SOC2-compliant infrastructure
• Decentralized validator network
• Distributed Validator Technology (DVT)
• Non-custodial design

Insurance:

• Optional Nexus Mutual coverage for Liquid vaults

Supported Assets & Networks

Staking Assets:

• ETH and ETH LSTs (stETH, rETH, cbETH, wstETH, sfrxETH)
• BTC (wrapped)
• USDC, USDT, and other stablecoins

Supported Networks:

• Ethereum Mainnet
• Scroll (L2 for Cash card)
• Multiple L2s for weETH deployment

Target Users

Ideal For:

• ETH holders seeking maximum staking yields
• DeFi users wanting liquidity while staking
• Crypto natives needing real-world spending utility
• Institutions requiring compliant staking solutions
• Users seeking non-custodial financial services
• Those wanting to earn while spending

Not Suitable For:

• Users in sanctioned jurisdictions
• Those seeking traditional fiat banking services
• Users uncomfortable with smart contract risk

Geographic Availability

• Headquarters: George Town, Cayman Islands
• Staking: Global (except sanctioned jurisdictions)
• Cash Card: Currently available in the US
• Token Claims: US and sanctioned jurisdictions excluded from some features

Pricing & Fees

Staking:

• No deposit fees
• Protocol takes portion of staking rewards (exact % via governance)
• No withdrawal fees (subject to liquidity)

Cash Card:

• Annual fee: Free
• FX fee: 1%
• ATM fee: 2%
• No staking requirement for basic card access

Pros

• Largest liquid restaking protocol by TVL ($3B+)
• Non-custodial: Full control of assets and keys
• Triple rewards: Staking + restaking + DeFi yields
• 400+ DeFi integrations for weETH
• Credit card without selling crypto
• Up to 15% cashback
• Free annual fee and physical cards
• Successful airdrop history (generous distributions)
• Profitable protocol ($26M revenue, $2M profit in 2024)
• Institutional-grade security with multiple audits
• Open-source and transparent
• Comprehensive protection benefits (price, purchase, warranty)

Cons

• Complex for crypto beginners
• US users excluded from token claims and some features
• EigenLayer dependency introduces additional risk
• Cashback paid in SCR tokens (not stablecoins)
• Higher tier card benefits require ETHFI staking
• Smart contract risk inherent in DeFi
• Credit card not directly issued by ether.fi protocol
• Restaking may slightly reduce pure ETH staking yields
• 1% FX fee and 2% ATM fee

Alternatives

• Crypto.com Card (CeFi crypto card with CRO staking)
• RedotPay (crypto card for spending)
• Karta (stablecoin-backed business cards)