EtherFi’s weETH, a wrapped version of eETH, is designed to enhance flexibility and composability for Ethereum stakers, and increase rewards accrued to them by accruing restaking yield in addition to staking yield.
Currently with more than US$8.4B locked, EtherFi is one of Ethereum’s flagship staking protocols.
What is eETH?
Before we explore weETH, it’s important to understand the concept of eETH.
eETH is the native liquid staking token of EtherFi, a decentralized, non-custodial liquid staking protocol for Ethereum.
eETH allows Ethereum stakers to retain control over their keys while delegating the actual staking of their ETH to approved validators.
One of the key features of eETH is its integration with EigenLayer, a solution that enables the restaking of staked Ethereum.
Restaking is a concept where users can delegate their staked ETH to multiple services, including security and validation for other networks, to earn additional rewards.
But while eETH is a rebasing ERC-20 token — meaning that its balance adjusts automatically as rewards accrue — wrapping eETH to weETH allows eETH to be composable and used across DeFi, without the balance changing complexities for accounting DeFi positions.
What is weETH?
weETH is a wrapped version of eETH, but with a key difference: it is non-rebasing.
Unlike eETH, which automatically adjusts its balance to reflect staking rewards, weETH maintains a fixed balance and becomes a reward-bearing token.
This change is primarily intended for users who want to interact with the broader DeFi ecosystem while still receiving the staking rewards generated by their Ethereum holdings.
In simpler terms, weETH gives users the ability to stake their ETH, earn rewards (both from Ethereum staking and EigenLayer), and then use weETH in other DeFi protocols such as Balancer, Pendle, Aura, and more.
It’s a way to unlock liquidity while keeping your assets staked and earning rewards.
Key Features of weETH
Non-Rebasing and Composability
The most significant difference between eETH and weETH is that weETH is non-rebasing.
This means the amount of weETH you hold will remain constant, unlike eETH which automatically increases as staking rewards are accrued.
As a result, weETH is much more composable with other DeFi protocols, meaning it can be used in lending, liquidity pools, and yield farming without breaking the user’s ability to participate in staking rewards.
Integration with DeFi Ecosystem
EtherFi is working closely with multiple DeFi partners like Balancer, Gravita, Pendle, Aura, and Maverick to integrate weETH into their platforms.
This means you can use weETH across multiple decentralized finance protocols without sacrificing the benefits of staking rewards.
Rewards from Multiple Sources
When you stake ETH through EtherFi and mint eETH, you receive rewards from both the Ethereum consensus layer (via staking rewards) and EigenLayer (via restaking).
When you wrap eETH into weETH, you continue to earn both of these rewards, along with loyalty points that contribute to governance and potential future benefits.
Liquidity without Lock-Up
Unlike other liquid staking protocols where tokens might be locked and non-composible, weETH enables you to use your staked assets in other DeFi protocols, creating more opportunities for yield generation and liquidity provision, while still earning the benefits of Ethereum staking.
How to Mint and Use weETH
Minting weETH is a simple process on the EtherFi DApp.
Users can stake their ETH to receive eETH at a 1:1 ratio and then wrap their eETH into weETH, or even directly to weETH.
Once you have minted weETH, you can participate in various DeFi activities, like providing liquidity or borrowing assets, on platforms that support weETH.
You can mint on multiple blockchains including Ethereum, Base, Linea and Blast.
The Future of weETH and EtherFi’s Ecosystem
EtherFi’s vision is to create a decentralized staking infrastructure that empowers users by giving them full control over their assets.
As the ecosystem grows, EtherFi plans to expand its partnerships, integrate with more Layer 2 solutions, and continue innovating with new wrapped tokens such as weETHk and eBTC, which expands the restaking protocols beyond EigenLayer and collateral beyond ETH.