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Best Liquid Restaking Protocols to Watch in 2025

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Written & Edited by
Nikita Valshonok

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What’s better than staking rewards? Liquid restaking—it allows you to reuse your staked assets without giving up their rewards while maintaining the flexibility to use your assets elsewhere. This article will help you understand liquid staking and restaking, how they work, their key features, and introduce you to the best liquid restaking protocols.

8 results found

Earn maximum rewards on Ethereum, BTC, BNB with KernelDAO's 3 products

A top-tier restaking ecosystem with $2B+ TVL, backed by Binance Labs

Est. APR

Up to 20%

Native Token

KERNEL (TGE coming soon: Q1 2025)

Chains supported

11

TVL

$2.2 Billion

Best for the largest restaking ecosystem

The first restaking protocol on Ethereum, exceeding $13B TVL

Est. APR

N/A

Native Token

EIGEN

Chains supported

1

TVL

$13.43 Billion

Best for flexible and native restaking options

The only protocol letting stakers keep their keys while delegating

Est. APR

Up to 4.6%

Native Token

ETHFI

Chains supported

6

TVL

$7.83 Billion

Best for a wide range of assets for restaking

Restaking SuperDapp in the EigenLayer ecosystem, supporting 12 LSTs

Est. APR

Up to 3.31%

Native Token

TGE is planned for Q1-Q2 of 2025

Chains supported

1

TVL

$30.73 Million

Best for non-custodial, institutional-grade staking

Liquid restaking for Bitcoin, Ethereum and IoTeX, backed by OKX Ventures

Est. APR

Up to 6.57%

Native Token

N/A

Chains supported

10+

TVL

$586 Million

Best for its validator protection features

One of the biggest LRT projects built in EigenLayer

Est. APR

Up to 3.04%

Native Token

PUFFER

Chains supported

1

TVL

$247.25 Million

Best for wide range of integrated blockchains

One of the most successful restaking protocols on Solana & Ethereum built on EigenLayer

Est. APR

Up to 12.07%

Native Token

REZ

Chains supported

15

TVL

$1.09 Billion

Best for generous airdrop campaigns for stakers

Swell introduced Swellchain, a restaking chain built on Optimism’s OP Stack

Est. APR

Up to 3.86%

Native Token

SWELL

Chains supported

2

TVL

$300,6 Million

Summary of the Best Luquid Restaking Protocols

Restaking ProtocolsEst. APRNative TokenChains supportedTVL
KernelDAOKernelDAO
Up to 20%KERNEL (TGE coming soon: Q1 2025)11$2.2 BillionExplore KernelDAO
EigenLayerEigenLayer
N/AEIGEN1$13.43 BillionExplore EigenLayer
EtherFiEtherFi
Up to 4.6%ETHFI6$7.83 BillionExplore EtherFi
InceptionLRTInceptionLRT
Up to 3.31%TGE is planned for Q1-Q2 of 20251$30.73 MillionExplore InceptionLRT
BedrockBedrock
Up to 6.57%N/A10+$586 MillionExplore Bedrock
Puffer FinancePuffer Finance
Up to 3.04%PUFFER1$247.25 MillionExplore Puffer Finance
RenzoRenzo
Up to 12.07%REZ15$1.09 BillionExplore Renzo
SwellSwell
Up to 3.86%SWELL2$300,6 MillionExplore Swell

What is Liquid Staking?

Liquid staking is an improved form of traditional staking, the process of locking crypto assets while receiving tokenized versions of those assets, called Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs). These tokens can be used for restaking or other DeFi activities while still earning staking rewards. 

How Liquid Staking works?

To understand this term better, it's important to first clarify what traditional staking is and how it differs from liquid staking. In traditional staking, such as on a Proof of Stake blockchain like Ethereum, users lock their ETH for a fixed period to help maintain the network's operation and security. During this time, the locked assets earn rewards, but the user cannot access or use them until the staking period ends, making the staked assets illiquid and untradable.

Liquid staking protocols solve this liquidity problem through a mechanism where participants lock their assets in a smart contract and receive liquidity tokens (LSTs) at a 1:1 ratio. For example, if you stake 5 ETH, the liquid staking protocol issues 5 sETH tokens for you. LSTs represent the staked tokens and can be freely traded, used in various decentralized applications (dApps), or leveraged in other DeFi strategies like lending. This provides users with greater flexibility for their crypto assets, potentially boosting overall staking returns.

Why do liquid staking platforms issue such tokens? It all comes down to maintaining the security of the underlying blockchain. As you may already know, the mechanism of traditional staking is designed to process network transactions, ensuring its security. If fewer assets are locked in staking, transaction processing becomes significantly slower, and the network becomes more centralized and less secure. Therefore, liquid staking provides a solution that helps maintain staking participation without sacrificing asset liquidity.

What is Liquid Restaking?

Liquid restaking is the process of staking LSTs (Liquid Staking Tokens) through a liquid restaking protocol. This allows participants to earn additional rewards by restaking their tokenized staked crypto. 

How Liquid Restaking works?

  • Staking crypto and getting LST: the process begins with liquid staking, where a user locks their crypto assets (e.g., ETH) into a liquid staking protocol. The protocol's smart contract mints Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) in a 1:1 ratio to the staked assets, representing them and maintaining their liquidity.
  • Restaking LST and getting LRT: The user then deposits their LSTs into a liquid restaking protocol. The smart contract of the protocol mints Liquidity Restaking Tokens (LRTs) in a 1:1 ratio to the deposited LSTs. The minted LRTs can be utilized within the DeFi ecosystem.

This opens up the potential for complex investment strategies, enabling users to maximize rewards, enhance capital efficiency, and compound their earning opportunities, while the protocols contribute to the overall growth of the ecosystem.

How to choose a Liquid Restaking Protocol?

When choosing a Liquid Restaking Protocol, consider security (audits, track record), rewards (staking APY, airdrops, incentives), supported LSTs and networks (Ethereum, L2s, or other chains), liquidity (ease of deposit/withdrawal), and ecosystem integrations (DeFi strategies). Define your goals—whether it's maximizing rewards, farming airdrops, or finding the best DeFi opportunities.

Risks of Liquid Restaking

Regardless of the size of a liquid restaking protocol, its TVL, user base, audited smart contracts, and other protective mechanisms, liquid restaking involves certain risks:

  • Smart contract exploits: vulnerabilities in smart contracts can lead to loss of users' funds.
  • Depegging asset risk: under certain complex cryptographic conditions, there is a risk of the native token (e.g., ETH) losing its peg to the Liquid Staking Token (e.g., stETH), which can negatively impact the value of staked and restaked positions.

Conclusion

Liquid restaking offers the potential to unlock numerous complex DeFi strategies, allowing users to maximize their staking returns. While the popularity and size of a platform can provide some assurance, they do not eliminate risks entirely. Do your own research (DYOR) thoroughly before choosing a protocol. Always consider the security, transparency, and functionality of the protocol to make an informed decision. In our Top Picks, we have selected and reviewed the leading liquid restaking protocols, highlighting their key metrics and features.

Frequently Asked Questions

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