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Okay, biggest screw up I see newbies make? They try restaking raw ETH thinking it's like regular staking. Nope. You'll hit a wall because top Ethereum restaking protocols want your liquid staking tokens (LSTs) like stETH or rETH. That's your ticket in. I did this once early on, lost a day fumbling around. Right way: stake ETH into Lido or Rocket Pool first, grab those LSTs, then restake 'em for extra juice. Why? LSTs keep your money working while locked, and restaking stacks yields on top. Sound familiar? Yeah, it's like compound interest but on crack.
Restaking basically reuses your staked ETH to secure other stuff - think rollups, oracles, data availability layers. EigenLayer kicked it off, now everyone's piling in. Yields? We're talking base staking around 3-4% plus restaking points or tokens bumping it to 10-20% APY sometimes. But risks stack too - slashing if operators screw up. In my experience, start small, like 0.1 ETH, to test.
Look, Etherfi's sitting pretty at $2.8 billion TVL, biggest dog in liquid restaking. It's all about maxing Ethereum PoS rewards while hooking into DeFi. Partners with EigenLayer, so your eETH token works everywhere.
The thing is, it's dead simple. I usually hit their app, connect wallet, and boom. But gas fees? Ethereum's a pig - expect ~0.01 ETH on a busy day, less on L2s. Why does this matter? You don't wanna burn cash just depositing.
Potential snag? If markets tank, eETH might dip below stETH value temporarily. Fix: Don't panic sell. I've held through 10% dips, yields cover it. Fees? 0.1-0.3% protocol take, worth it for the liquidity.
So EigenLayer, $1.5 billion TVL, the pioneer. It lets you "rent" Ethereum security to Actively Validated Services (AVSs) - fancy for side services like data blobs for rollups. You delegate LSTs to operators, earn extra if they perform.
Honestly, it's powerful but hands on. Native restaking if you're a validator whale (32 ETH min), or LST route for us plebs. In my experience, pick operators with high uptime - check their dashboard stats.
What's next? After depositing, monitor via their app. I set alerts for slashing events. Gas for delegation? ~0.005 ETH usually.
Renzo's got over $1B TVL, acts as a strategy manager for EigenLayer. You get ezETH, super liquid for DeFi plays. Solves node operator matching - they optimize for you.
But here's a gotcha: Permissionless, so anyone can join, but that means watching for sketchy operators. I usually stick to top 10 by stake. Yields amp up with AVS exposure, like 5-8% extra on top of staking.
| Protocol | TVL | LRT Token | Est. Extra Yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| Etherfi | $2.8B | eETH | 4-10% |
| EigenLayer | $1.5B | N/A (delegates) | 3-12% |
| Renzo | $1B+ | ezETH | 5-8% |
Okay, Restake Finance - first modular LST for EigenLayer. Introduces rehypothecation, basically letting your LSTs secure even more layers. DAO governance keeps it honest.
I like it for the ethics angle. No central overlords. But setup's a tad fiddly. Start with staking LST into their pool, get restaked version. Fees low, ~0.2%.
Issue I've hit: Liquidity can thin out during hype cycles. Solution? Bridge to L2 like Arbitrum first, gas drops to pennies.
Stuck deposit? Check allowance - reapprove if needed. Wallet draining gas? Use L2 entry points; most protocols support Optimism/Base now.
Puffer's a native liquid restaking protocol on EigenLayer. Risk free vibe 'cause they monitor governance tight. Deposit ETH direct, get pufETH.
Pretty much plug and play. TVL growing fast. In my experience, great for hands off folks. Extra perk: PoS validation baked in.
Why watch in 2026? They're pushing new modules. Yields? Competitive, around 6-9% boost. Watch for operator slashing - they've got safeguards.
Kelp DAO, $628M TVL, all about scaling liquidity. 15k rsETH holders can't be wrong. Distributes stakes to operators smartly.
Swell? rswETH for EigenLayer access, $150M TVL. Earn staking + restaking without liquidity lock. Facilitates AVSs smooth.
Both solid for diversification. I rotate between 'em. Kelp for scale, Swell for native yield. Common pitfall: Forgetting to claim rewards. Set weekly checks.
Wait, Ethereum focus, but 2026's wild - Symbiotic's chain agnostic, accepts LP tokens too. Karak for multi asset. Even Babylon sneaks BTC in without wraps. Solayer if you're Solana curious, but stick ETH for now.
The thing is, Ethereum restaking's maturing. Fusaka upgrade rumors boosting LSTs. ETF staking incoming? Yields could spike.
Slashing. Correlation crashes - everything tanks together. Smart contract bugs. I've lost 2% once to a bad operator. Mitigate: Diversify protocols, never all in one LST.
Liquidity crunch? LSTs trade at discount sometimes, post Shapella less so. I've arbitraged that for profit. Gas wars? Batch txs or L2.
Question for you: Ready to lose sleep over yields? Start paper trading first. Nah, just kidding - demo wallets exist.
And taxes - US folks, LST rewards taxable events. Log everything.
| Feature | Etherfi | EigenLayer | Renzo | Puffer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry LST? | Yes | Yes/Native | Yes | Direct ETH |
| TVL | $2.8B | $1.5B | $1B | Growing |
| Fees | 0.1-0.3% | Variable | Low | Minimal |
| Best For | DeFi liquidity | AVS variety | Optimization | Hands off |
Pick based on style. I mix Etherfi for liquidity, Eigen for points farming.
Now, scaling up. Got 1 ETH? Split 0.5 Etherfi, 0.3 Eigen, 0.2 Renzo. Watch dashboard daily first week.
Restaking's exploding - billions more TVL expected. Etherfi partnerships expanding. EigenDA live, slashing costs for rollups. Renzo permissionless ops maturing.
But volatility. ETH at $3k? Yields compress. At $10k? Boom time. I've timed entries post dips.
One more: Bridges risky for LSTs. Stick on chain or trusted like Across.
Alright, you've got the map. Hit one protocol this weekend, report back. Questions? Fire away. Yields wait for no one.
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