Innovation races forward at unprecedented speeds in the decentralized finance world, opening the doors to new ways for investors to maximize their returns on digital assets. One of the hottest trends to take off in 2024 was restaking, which allows DeFi users to leverage staked tokens across various protocols and amplify their returns without adding new capital.
Restaking is a strategy for utilizing staked capital, which is locked in smart contracts to secure blockchain networks. Proof-of-stake blockchains like Ethereum are secured by their users, who “stake” the network’s native crypto asset in smart contracts to verify and confirm transactions, earning rewards for doing so. But while their assets are staked, they cannot be used for anything else.
That changes with restaking protocols, which give investors a “staked token” for each native coin they stake. For instance, if someone stakes 1 ETH, they’ll receive 1 new stETH token in return, which can then be utilized with other DeFi protocols to earn an additional source of yield.
In other words, restaking allows investors to multiply their returns on their DeFi investments, maximizing their profit-making potential while providing additional security to the network.
Let’s take a look at some of the top restaking protocols to watch in 2025 and see what sets them apart:
1. EigenLayer
The most famous restaking protocol of all, EigenLayer boasts a total value locked of more than $15 billion, according to DeFiLlama. It’s built on the Ethereum blockchain, and it provides a way for investors to enhance cryptographic security by restaking their staked assets.
By staking ETH with EigenLayer, users receive stETH tokens that can be staked in order to secure decentralized applications built atop Ethereum. EigenLayer achieves this through the use of smart contracts, and gives stakers the chance to earn additional rewards on top of their basic staking yield by simultaneously providing security to what’s known as “actively managed services”.
Through this mechanism, EigenLayer enables dApps to secure themselves without bootstrapping their own liquidity while boosting capital efficiency for Ethereum’s stakers. It’s a novel concept that addresses the problem of security fragmentation, which is caused by hundreds of different protocols all competing for the same pool of capital to secure themselves. Instead of competing, they can share that capital.
EigenLayer therefore provides increased security and flexibility for dApp developers and enhanced capital efficiency for investors. By tapping into Ethereum’s solid security foundation, it can significantly elevate the trust users have in protocols that are either built on that network or integrated with it.
Moreover, developers get the freedom to build without any architecture-related constraints, meaning they can focus more on innovation instead of worrying about security. As an added benefit, EigenLayer helps to reduce transaction fees for dApps hosted on Ethereum Layer-2 through its decentralized data availability layer, which is also hosted on Ethereum.
For investors, EigenLayer provides some enticing rewards, but they should still be aware of the potential risks involved in restaking, such as slashing and centralization.
2. Symbiotic
Distinguished from other restaking platforms by its flexible and modular approach, Symbiotic has embraced a permissionless and shared security model that can support any ERC-20-compatible token, making it a compelling option for dApps and projects looking for staking versatility.
Symbiotic is notably supported by Lido, the largest standard Ethereum staking platform, which increases trust in its offering, while its financial backers include Paradigm and CyberFund. It’s also highly composable, and can easily be integrated with DeFi projects on Ethereum, enabling more customization and yield-stacking strategies for DeFi users. To date, it has amassed $2.16 billion in TVL.
In addition, Symbiotic has created an innovative vault system that acts as a kind of automated intermediary layer that manages user delegation strategies.
A final advantage of Symbiotic is its dedication to decentralization and immutability. Its core smart contracts are non-upgradeable, similar to the approach pioneered by the decentralized exchange platform Uniswap. In doing this, it eliminates the risks associated with external governance and new vulnerabilities emerging.
3. SatLayer
One of the newest kids on the restaking block is SatLayer. Although new to the space, it stands out as it’s not focused on Ethereum, but rather on the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.
SatLayer is the first dedicated restaking platform for BTC holders. Its smart contacts are deployed on Babylon Chain, a Bitcoin Layer-2 network, and it enables BTC holders to stake their coins to secure what is called “Bitcoin Validated Services”, which are dApps and proof-of-stake networks that rely on Bitcoin for their security.
It’s an intriguing concept because BTC is often considered to be an idle asset, as it cannot easily be used in DeFi, meaning there are few opportunities for Bitcoin holders to generate yield.
SatLayer therefore increases the utility of Bitcoin, so investors can do more than just “hodl” and hope the price increases. On the technical side, SatLayer introduces slashing to protect against malicious activity. What’s interesting is the flexibility of this slashing mechanism, and developers building Bitcoin Validated Services can either redirect slashed assets to their protocol as revenue or simply burn those tokens. It’s said that this can help to create bigger incentives to encourage responsible behavior among node operators.
SatLayer is backed by investors including Castle Island Ventures, Hack VC, and Franklin Templeton.
4. Etherfi
As the second-largest restaking protocol in the industry, we can’t not mention Etherfi, which currently boasts a TVL of $8.23 billion. Like EigenLayer, it leverages the Ethereum network’s security to underpin other protocols, but is differentiated in its approach, with users staking ETH to receive eETH, which can be used in dozens of different DeFi protocols.
As with EigenLayer, it allows investors to maximize their staking rewards. In addition, it also partners with EigenLayer, so investors can use their eETH tokens to secure Ethereum-based AVSs.
Etherfi was launched in March 2024 alongside an airdrop, and also enables users to earn loyalty points, which may potentially boost their rewards in the future.
The protocol received $23 million in a Series A funding round led by Bullish Capital and CoinFund shortly before it launched, and its TVL grew rapidly after that announcement, rising from just $103 million to $1.66 billion by the end of that month. As we enter 2025 and restaking continues to grow, we can expect Etherfi to assert itself as a pivotal mover and shaker in the ongoing innovation around restaking.
5. Solayer
Solayer is the first restaking protocol that’s native to the Solana blockchain ecosystem. Regarded as the fastest mainstream blockchain in the business, Solana is known for its rapid transaction processing times and its low gas fees, and it has given birth to a healthy ecosystem of DeFi applications.
With Solayer, investors can reuse their staked SOL tokens across many of these Solana-based DeFi protocols in order to maximize yield. Users benefit from Solana’s fast transaction speeds, which means almost zero lag when sending funds to a DeFi protocol or withdrawing them, as well as its ultra-low transaction fees.
Solayer leverages Solana’s PoS principles to extend the security of Solana to other decentralized applications and systems, with users participating in a decentralized network of validators, contributing to the wider Solana ecosystem. What’s different about Solayer is that, whereas its Ethereum-based cousins are focused on non-mainnet systems such as cross-chain bridges and oracles, it’s beginning with native Solana dApps. With this in mind, Solayer also has plans to create a unified liquidity layer across all of its delegates using the sSOL token, which has applications in collateral and spot trading.
The platform launched earlier this year and now boasts $315.5 million in TVL, which means it ranks as the 12th-largest protocol in the Solana ecosystem.
Restaking ramps up
The restaking industry is growing fast and it looks unstoppable as we head into 2025. Investors continue to pour funds into restaking protocols, and they are poised to have a dramatic impact on the DeFi industry, boosting liquidity and yield to attract more individuals and institutional investors.
By enabling investors to increase their yields without additional capital, restaking provides a tantalizing opportunity for savvy DeFi investors to compound their returns. It’s fast turning into a magnet for crypto investors, and it benefits blockchain ecosystems as a whole by boosting the security of smaller protocols that have struggled to do so alone.
All in all, restaking provides strong incentives for DeFi investors while boosting the health of blockchains, and it’s a winning combination that’s set to spark yet more growth in 2025. No matter if you’re a fan of Ethereum, Bitcoin, or Solana, restaking is paving the way for more efficient and diversified rewards.
