Summary
- Ether.fi has removed restaking from its main token, weETH, turning it into a plain Ethereum staking token and shifting restaking to a new token, weETHs.
- The change lets users choose between standard staking rewards with weETH or higher-yield, higher-risk restaking exposure with weETHs.
- Ether.fi‘s move comes as Ethereum researchers propose cutting staking rewards to zero once staking participation crosses a threshold, a plan Ether.fi’s founder argues would hurt smaller stakers and staking-based products.
Ether.fi, which holds about $3.55 billion of customer deposits and is one of the largest staking businesses in crypto, has stripped restaking out of weETH, its main product, leaving it as a plain token that earns ordinary Ethereum staking rewards.
Anyone wanting the extra yield now has to hold a second token, weETHs.
Staking means locking up ether to help run Ethereum and getting paid for it — whereas restaking puts that same ether to work a second time, securing other services for extra rewards on top.
The tradeoff is that it doubles the ways a holder can be penalised, since a failure on either system can cost them part of their deposit.
For current holders:
You now have a clearer choice between basic staking exposure and additional restaking exposure depending on your goals
For new users:
This simply makes the EtherFi stack easier to understand
— ether.fi (@ether_fi) August 6, 2026
Until this week, anyone holding weETH was taking on both risks whether they wanted the extra rewards or not. Now the choice is theirs: Hold weETH for plain staking, or weETHs to take the restaking rewards and the extra risk that comes with them.