Swap ETHFI at the Best Rate

What is ETHFI?

ETHFI is an ERC-20 token that governs the ether.fi protocol. ether.fi lets users stake ETH while keeping control of their keys, mints eETH as the liquid receipt, and restakes deposits through EigenLayer so the same collateral can secure additional services. A product stack has grown around that core: Liquid strategy vaults and a Cash card that spends against on-chain balances.

The token launched in March 2024 through a Binance Launchpool distribution and an airdrop to early protocol users. It is not a claim on staked ETH; it is the voting and value-accrual instrument of the DAO that steers the protocol.

How ETHFI works

Governance runs through a public forum and off-chain votes. Proposals are debated on the ether.fi governance forum, then put to ETHFI holders on Snapshot, and the ether.fi Foundation carries out what passes. The documented scope covers protocol upgrades, fee parameters, node operator whitelisting, how restaked collateral is allocated, and treasury management.

Since December 2024 governance has steadily wired protocol revenue to the token. Votes established a program that routes 100% of eETH withdrawal-fee revenue into weekly ETHFI buybacks and a portion of revenue from the Stake, Liquid and Cash products into monthly ones, with the purchased tokens distributed to stakers.

ETHFI supply and tokenomics

The supply is fixed at one billion, fully minted at launch, with no further issuance. Per the project's allocation table, investors hold 33.74% on a two-year vesting schedule, core contributors 21.47% over three years, the treasury 21.62%, user airdrops 19.27%, and partnerships and liquidity 3.9%, which includes a 1% commitment to Ethereum's Protocol Guild. All vested holders faced a one-year cliff from launch.

Who builds ETHFI

ether.fi was started by Mike Silagadze, who remains its chief executive, and raised a 23 million dollar Series A co-led by CoinFund in February 2024, when the protocol already held over a billion dollars of deposits. The ether.fi Foundation stewards the DAO's treasury, executes passed votes and runs the buyback program.

How ETHFI is governed

ETHFI voting is one token, one vote on Snapshot, so outcomes are shaped by large holders and the delegate program that concentrates participation. Votes are off-chain and execution is trusted to the Foundation, a different arrangement from protocols whose passed proposals execute directly against contracts on-chain.

What people use ETHFI for

The token's practical uses map onto the programs its governance has created, which is why they have grown vote by vote since the 2024 launch.

• Vote on ether.fi proposals directly or delegate voting power.
• Stake ETHFI for sETHFI to receive buyback-funded distributions.
• Provide ETHFI liquidity in decentralized exchange pools.

ETHFI risks and considerations

Restaking layers risk on top of ordinary staking: validators can be penalized, EigenLayer services can impose their own slashing, and ether.fi's contracts and admin keys are a dependency even though upgrades sit behind multisigs and timelocks. The protocol states that no key can move user funds, a claim a holder should weigh rather than assume.

For the token itself, the launch allocation put over half the supply with investors and contributors, and vesting has largely run its course since March 2024. Governance turnout is voluntary and off-chain, and the buyback programs are revocable: what a vote created, a later vote can end.