Ether.fi adds tokenised stocks and portfolio loans

Ether.fi, the Ethereum liquid-restaking and DeFi platform, rolled out a Summer upgrade across its web, iOS and Android apps, adding tokenised stock and metals trading alongside portfolio-backed borrowing. The trading feature runs through xStocks, issued by Backed Assets and distributed via Kraken-linked entities, and is unavailable to US users; holdings sit in self-custodial vaults with social recovery.

The new borrowing feature integrates Aave on Optimism, letting users borrow against their entire portfolio without selling their holdings, at rates currently around 4 percent. The update also adds fiat on- and off-ramps supporting more than 30 currencies and payment methods including Apple Pay, Cash App and Interac, with borrowed funds spendable through Ether.fi's existing Cash card.

Bundling brokerage-style trading, collateralised lending and card spending into one self-custodial app pushes a restaking protocol further into territory usually held by neobanks, without handing custody of the underlying assets to a third party.