What Is Ether.fi Adding To Its Neobank App?
Ether.fi has upgraded its non-custodial neobank app with tokenized stock and metals trading, portfolio-backed borrowing through Aave and expanded fiat payment options as the protocol tries to reach users beyond its original decentralized finance audience.
The new “Summer” release allows users to buy tokenized equities and commodities through xStocks alongside cryptocurrencies. The assets can be held in self-custodial vaults that include social recovery features, keeping control of funds with users rather than a centralized financial institution.
Ether.fi is also adding borrowing against a user’s broader portfolio through Aave. Borrowing rates are currently around 4%, according to the protocol, and the proceeds can be used for spending through the ether.fi Cash card or transferred elsewhere.
The company described the redesigned app as “less crypto-forward” and said it is intended for “a much broader audience,” reflecting an effort to package DeFi tools in a format that more closely resembles conventional banking and investment apps.
“With ether.fi, we’re bridging the gap between decentralized finance and everyday financial needs,” CEO Mike Silagadze said. “Our goal is to replace the traditional bank for most users and give them tools and benefits that were previously available only to institutions and high-net-worth individuals. That is the power of DeFi and self-custody.”
How Does Borrowing And Spending Work?
The updated service combines lending, payments and yield-bearing assets within the same non-custodial structure. Users can keep assets earning yield while using them as collateral rather than selling those holdings whenever they need liquidity.
A new Aave market running on Optimism allows customers to borrow against supported portfolios and spend the borrowed funds using the ether.fi Cash card. Ether.fi moved its card infrastructure from the Scroll Ethereum Layer 2 to Optimism earlier this year.
The company is offering 3% cash back on ether.fi Cash purchases, along with zero top-up fees and zero foreign-exchange fees at higher membership tiers. Users can also spend supported assets directly rather than borrowing against them.
New fiat on- and off-ramps support more than 30 currencies and payment methods, including Apple Pay and Cash App. In markets where Ether.fi cannot issue its payment card, Silagadze said users can instead rely on staking or fiat on- and off-ramp services.
Investor Takeaway
Ether.fi is moving beyond its restaking origins toward a broader financial app combining investing, borrowing, payments and self-custody. The test will be whether these products can attract mainstream users without losing the advantages that differentiated the protocol from centralized exchanges and traditional banks.
Why Is Ether.fi Moving Beyond Restaking?
Ether.fi originally built its business around Ethereum staking and restaking, but it has increasingly expanded into consumer payments and real-world assets. The protocol has about 500,000 users and roughly 150,000 payment cards, giving it an existing customer base for the expanded neobank product.
Earlier this month, Ether.fi began exiting its weETH restaking exposure on EigenLayer in favor of Symbiotic infrastructure. It has also allocated capital to other income-producing strategies linked to real-world assets.
Among its larger deals was a commitment of $3 billion in ETH as validator liquidity to ETHGas, an Ethereum blockspace futures platform, under a three-year agreement.
The broader product strategy reduces Ether.fi’s dependence on restaking as a standalone business. Instead, staking and restaking assets such as eETH can become collateral inside a wider financial system where users borrow, spend and invest without transferring custody to a bank or centralized exchange.
Can Crypto Neobanks Compete With Financial Superapps?
Ether.fi is expanding as major cryptocurrency companies race to combine trading with banking-like services. Binance, Coinbase, Kraken and OKX have all added or explored products involving tokenized stocks, payments and other financial services that extend beyond traditional crypto trading.
Crypto neobanks are pursuing a similar model through self-custody wallets, yield-bearing balances, borrowing, payment cards and tokenized real-world assets. The competition increasingly centers on whether one application can become the primary financial interface for users rather than simply a place to buy cryptocurrencies.
Tokenized stocks could broaden Ether.fi’s appeal by allowing customers to manage crypto and traditional market exposure through the same interface. However, availability will depend heavily on jurisdiction. The company said tokenized stock trading will not be offered in the U.S. and certain other markets.
Regulatory restrictions could therefore produce different versions of the product across countries, particularly for securities and card services. Ether.fi’s ability to scale will depend not only on user demand but also on access to payment rails, lending markets and tokenized assets in each jurisdiction.
The Summer release nevertheless shows how quickly DeFi applications are expanding beyond specialist crypto products. Ether.fi is betting that self-custody, portfolio borrowing and tokenized investing can be packaged into an app that competes for everyday financial activity rather than remaining limited to experienced DeFi users.
