Trade ETHFI/USD

In custodial liquid staking, the protocol generates and holds the validator private keys on behalf of stakers, meaning stakers cannot independently control or exit their validator. Ether.fi's non-custodial model generates validator keys on the staker's hardware and uses distributed validator technology to ensure the staker retains the withdrawal credential, which is the key that controls where staked ETH is sent when the validator exits. In practice, Ether.fi cannot prevent a staker from exiting their validator or redirect staking rewards without the staker's cooperation, providing a stronger custody guarantee than pooled protocols.

EigenLayer is a protocol that allows Ethereum validators and liquid staking token holders to commit their staked ETH as security for additional services called Actively Validated Services (AVS). These could be data availability layers, oracle networks, or cross-chain bridges that need economic security. In exchange for accepting slashing risk from the AVS, restakers earn additional yield paid by the AVS in addition to their standard Ethereum staking rewards. Ether.fi allows eETH holders to opt into EigenLayer restaking, earning this additional yield layer while maintaining their liquid eETH position.

eETH is a rebasing token that increases in balance automatically as staking rewards accrue, similar to stETH from Lido. The user's eETH balance grows daily to reflect accumulated rewards. weETH is the wrapped, non-rebasing version that does not change in balance but increases in value per token relative to ETH. weETH is more compatible with DeFi protocols that cannot handle rebasing tokens, as the constant balance is easier to account for in smart contract logic. Users can wrap and unwrap between eETH and weETH at any time.

No. ETHFI/USD on StoicFX is a Contract for Difference. You trade ETHFI's price against the US dollar without holding any tokens. To stake ETH through Ether.fi, receive eETH, participate in EigenLayer restaking, or vote on governance proposals, you would need actual ETH and ETHFI tokens in an Ethereum-compatible wallet.