What Is Restaking?
Restaking allows staked assets (like stETH) to be re-staked to secure additional protocols called Actively Validated Services (AVSs). This earns extra yield while using the same capital.
EigenLayer
EigenLayer pioneered restaking on Ethereum:
- Restake ETH or LSTs
- Secure AVSs (oracles, bridges, etc.)
- Earn staking + AVS rewards
- Pooled security for new protocols
How It Works
- Stake ETH via LST (earn ~4%)
- Restake LST on EigenLayer
- AVSs use restaked capital for security
- Earn additional AVS rewards
Liquid Restaking Tokens (LRTs)
LRTs provide liquid tokens representing restaked positions:
- weETH (EtherFi)
- ezETH (Renzo)
- rsETH (Kelp)
- pufETH (Puffer)
Yield Stack
- Base ETH staking: ~4%
- AVS rewards: Variable
- Points/airdrops: Potential
- Total: 6-15%+
Risks
- Slashing from AVS misbehavior
- Smart contract complexity
- Operator selection
- Correlation risk