TLDR: Restaking is the dual-yield meta — deposit ETH, mint a Liquid Staking Token (LST), earn ~3.5% staking APY plus protocol points simultaneously. Combine eETH (Ether.fi), ezETH (Renzo), and USDe (Ethena) for the highest risk-adjusted farming yield in DeFi.
What Is Restaking and How Does It Earn Dual Yield?
Restaking lets you deposit ETH, receive a liquid staking token (eETH, ezETH), and earn staking yield AND protocol points simultaneously. LST composability means you can use restaked tokens as collateral on lending protocols for a third layer of yield.
| Layer | Source | Approximate Yield |
|---|---|---|
| Staking | ETH validator rewards | ~3.5% APY |
| Restaking Points | EigenLayer AVS rewards | Speculative airdrop |
| Protocol Points | Ether.fi / Renzo loyalty | Speculative airdrop |
| Lending Yield | Aave/Morpho weETH supply | ~2–4% APY |
Four simultaneous income streams from a single ETH deposit.
What Are the Best Restaking Protocols in 2026?
| Protocol | TVL | LST | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ether.fi | $3.8B | eETH / weETH | Confirmed Airdrop |
| Ethena | $2.2B | USDe / sUSDe | Sats program |
| Renzo | $1.0B | ezETH | Multi-chain points |
| Sanctum | $300M | INF (Solana) | Wonderland points |
Combined TVL exceeds $7B — this is institutional-grade farming.
How Do You Execute the Dual-Yield Restaking Loop?
- Deposit ETH on Ether.fi to mint eETH — earns staking yield + Loyalty Points.
- Wrap eETH to weETH for DeFi compatibility and use as collateral on lending protocols.
- Mint ezETH on Renzo for multi-chain restaking across Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Linea.
- Hold USDe on Ethena to earn Sats — lower price risk since it tracks the dollar. Lock sUSDe for bonus multiplier.
- For Solana pioneers — Sanctum Wonderland provides an LST liquidity layer with its own points program.
- Track all LST balances on FarmDash — eETH, weETH, stETH, rsETH, ezETH, USDe, sUSDe are scanned automatically.
What Is the Leveraged Restaking Loop?
The power-user strategy:
- Deposit ETH → 2. Mint eETH on Ether.fi → 3. Wrap to weETH → 4. Deposit weETH on Aave → 5. Borrow ETH → 6. Repeat.
| Loops | Effective Exposure | Marginal Points | Liquidation Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1× | 1× | Baseline | Low |
| 2× | ~1.7× | +70% | Moderate |
| 3× | ~2.4× | +140% | High |
| 4×+ | exponential | diminishing | Severe |
- Never loop more than 3× — marginal point gain beyond 3× does not justify exponential liquidation risk
- Monitor the eETH/ETH and ezETH/ETH peg ratio daily — any deviation >1% is a warning signal
- Keep Aave health factor above 1.5× at all times — set FarmDash alerts at 1.6× for early warning
- De-leverage in one transaction if you see unusual LST selling pressure
What Are the Hazards of Restaking?
- LST De-Peg — stETH briefly de-pegged to 0.93 ETH during the Terra collapse, causing cascading liquidations
- EigenLayer Smart Contract Risk — has not been battle-tested at scale during a market crash
- USDe Funding Bleed — Ethena's delta-neutral mechanism depletes if funding rates go deeply negative
- Gas Costs — Ethereum mainnet transactions can eat into yields. Use L2 alternatives where available
Diversify across 2–3 LSTs (eETH + ezETH + USDe) to avoid single-protocol concentration. Set de-peg alerts on CoinGecko for every LST you hold.
How Much Capital Do You Need to Start Restaking?
| Tier | Capital | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Greenhorn | 0.5 ETH (~$1,500) | Single-protocol passive eETH |
| Settler | 1–2 ETH | Multi-protocol diversification |
| Pioneer | 3–5 ETH | 2× leveraged loop on weETH |
| Veteran | 10+ ETH | 3× loop + USDe + cross-chain |
Ethena USDe is the best entry point for farmers who want dollar-denominated yield without ETH price exposure.
Are You Flagged as a Sybil?
Stop guessing. Paste your 0x address into FarmDash Watch Mode to monitor every LST balance, restaking peg, and Pioneer Pace™ in one Manifest.