Opinion: As the restaking gold rush fades, top Ethereum protocols see sharply shrinking profits.
ether.fi Exits Restaking as Five Major Protocols’ Second-Quarter Gross Profit Falls to $953,000
On Sept. 29, BlockBeats reported that ether.fi, a leading Ethereum liquid restaking protocol, is gradually exiting restaking as yields continue to decline and smart contract risk rises. The shift reflects a broader cooling in the restaking sector: as of Sept. 8, restaking held about $10.02 billion in assets under management but generated only about $99,977 in fees over the prior week, while liquid staking managed about $51.87 billion and produced about $27.35 million in fees. On a per-dollar basis, ordinary staking generated fees roughly 53 times higher than restaking.
Yields and Risk Reshape the Business Case
The fee gap suggests that the restaking gold rush is fading as protocols confront weak fee income and rising risk. ether.fi CEO Mike Silagadze said restaking had “no meaningful yield opportunity” and that users face extra risk, prompting the company to withdraw. As of August, less than 1% of ether.fi assets remained restaked through EigenLayer, and the company expects to sever the remaining structural connections by year-end.
Five Major Protocols See Profit Compression
The pressure is not isolated. Renzo, Kelp, Swell, Puffer Finance and Bedrock, five leading liquid restaking protocols, recorded combined gross profit of about $953,000 in the second quarter of 2026, down sharply from about $2.18 million over the previous three quarters. The decline shows that the sector’s earlier yield advantage is weakening, while the risks and costs of operating restaking products remain.
The Pivot Toward a Crypto New Bank
ether.fi is redirecting its focus toward a crypto “new bank” model. Its stated products include crypto payment cards, lending markets, yield vaults and tokenized stocks and metals. For readers, the signal is that Ethereum-based protocols may compete more on banking-like rails and tokenized assets when restaking fees cannot support meaningful yield.
Risk Warning
This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. It summarizes publicly reported developments in Ethereum restaking protocols and should not be interpreted as a recommendation to buy, sell, hold, or participate in any crypto asset. Digital assets are highly volatile, and restaking yields may decline while smart contract, liquidity, and operational risks can increase. Readers should conduct independent research, assess risk tolerance carefully, and make rational judgments before taking any action.
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