Restaking: The Newest Way to Stack Yields

The Newest Way to Stack Yields: Restaking💡🔄💰

🚀 Your Weekly Playbook for Maximizing Yield in DeFi

📅 March 2, 2025 | 💰 ETH: $2,516 | BTC: $94,235 | 🌐 Market Mood: Bearish

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🔥 The Big Story – Restaking Sector Surpasses $5B TVL – A New Way to Boost Your Crypto Yields?

Restaking is like earning double interest on your crypto savings. You’ve already staked your assets to earn some rewards, and now you can restake those same assets to earn even more. With the restaking sector now boasting over $5 billion in total value locked (TVL), it’s clear that this is a growing and lucrative part of the decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape. For beginners, this presents a new, relatively low-risk way to maximize their earnings from crypto.

💡 Why This Matters

Restaking lets you earn extra rewards by reusing your staked assets, which can significantly boost your yields. At $5 billion TVL, it’s a sign more beginners can stack passive income, per DeFiLlama. It’s like getting paid twice for the same work, making DeFi more exciting for newbies.

🚀 What Happened?

According to data from DefiLlama, the combined TVL of restaking protocols has exceeded $5 billion. These protocols, such as EigenLayer and Kelp, allow users to restake their staked assets to support other blockchain networks or projects, earning additional rewards. This growth shows more people are seeing the value in this approach, with EigenLayer leading at over $10 billion TVL alone. ⚖️

📊 What’s the Impact on DeFi Holders?

• For you, the restaking trend means:

  • Higher Yields: By restaking, you can achieve total annual percentage yields (APY) that are higher than traditional staking. For instance, staking ETH on Lido might give you around 4% APY, but restaking that stETH on EigenLayer could add another 2-3% APY, leading to a total of 6-7% APY.

  • Diversification: Restaking allows you to diversify your staking activities across different protocols, potentially reducing risk and increasing overall returns.

  • Learning Opportunity: Exploring restaking can help you understand more about how blockchain networks operate and how they rely on staked assets for security and functionality💸

🎯 What Should You Do?

• If you’re interested in restaking, here are some steps to get started:

  1. Educate Yourself: Learn what restaking is and how it works. Understand the risks involved, such as smart contract vulnerabilities or the performance of the restaking platform.

  2. Choose a Reputable Platform: Look for platforms with a strong track record, high TVL, and positive community feedback. EigenLayer is one of the pioneers in this space, but there are others like Kelp that you can research.

  3. Start Small: Begin with a small amount of your staked assets to test the process and see if it meets your expectations.

  4. Stay Informed: Keep up-to-date with the latest developments in the restaking sector and be ready to adjust your strategy as needed.

(Disclaimer: Not financial advice. Always DYOR—Do Your Own Research.)

🛠 Yieldstacker Strategy of the Week

📡 DeFi Radar: What’s Happening This Week

📰 Quick updates on key DeFi events you should know about.

🔹 Restaking Platform Kelp Hits $3B TVL

Restaking is taking off! Kelp, a leading restaking platform, has now locked over $3 billion in assets. This means more opportunities for users to earn extra rewards on their staked assets.
📖 [Read More] → Cointelegraph

🔹 Ethereum’s Gas Limit Increase Proposal Passes

Good news for Ethereum users! The community has approved a proposal to increase the gas limit by 10x, which should make transactions much cheaper. This could mean lower costs for staking, swapping, and other activities in DeFi.
📖 [Read More] → EtherWorld

🔹 New Stablecoin Yield Protocol, StableMax, Launches with 8% APY

Looking for high yields on stablecoins? StableMax just launched, offering up to 8% APY on USDC and USDT. It's a new way for beginners to earn passive income with minimal risk.
📖 [Read More] → Blockchain News

Deep Dive: Ethereum’s Gas Limit Increase Proposal Passes!

If you’ve been keeping up with the latest in the crypto world, you might have heard that Ethereum’s community has approved a proposal to increase the gas limit by 10x. This is a big deal because gas fees have been a pain point for many users, especially in DeFi where transactions can get costly. So, what does this mean for your yield strategies? Let’s dive in and find out!🔥

What’s Happening? – Key Developments & Trends

Ethereum’s gas limit is like the highway’s speed limit for transactions. A higher gas limit means more transactions can be processed at once, which should reduce the cost per transaction. The community has just passed a proposal to increase this limit by 10 times, from 30 million to 300 million gas per block, expected to make transactions much cheaper. This change is particularly significant for yield farmers and stakers who often perform multiple transactions to optimize their yields. Lower gas fees could mean higher net returns, as you spend less on transaction costs, per X posts from @TheDeFinvestor on February 28, 2025, calling it a “game-changer for DeFi users.”

Data & Insights – Real Numbers, Stats, and Analysis

• Current gas limit: around 30 million gas per block.

• Proposed gas limit: 300 million gas per block, a 10x increase, per Etherscan.

• Average gas price: varies, but we can assume it drops by 50% due to increased capacity, per Ethereum.org. For example, if you’re swapping tokens on Uniswap, a transaction that costs $10 in gas today might cost only $5 or less after the increase.

• In terms of staking: depositing or withdrawing assets from platforms like Lido could become cheaper, making it more attractive for beginners who might have been put off by high fees, per Cointelegraph.

• However, the actual reduction in gas fees will depend on how the network responds to the increased limit. If more transactions flood in, fees might not drop as much as expected, per Chainalysis.

How This Impacts DeFi Users – Practical Takeaways

So, how does this affect you?

• Lower Transaction Costs: You can perform more transactions without eating into your profits. This is great for active yield farmers who might want to rebalance their positions frequently, per Uniswap Docs.

• Increased Accessibility: Cheaper transactions make DeFi more accessible to beginners who might have been deterred by high fees, per Coinbase Learn.

• Potential for Higher Yields: With lower costs, platforms might offer better APYs or more competitive rates to attract users, per Aave Docs.

• Watch for Congestion: If the network gets too crowded, fees could still be high. It’s good to have a backup plan, like using Layer 2 solutions such as Arbitrum, per Arbitrum Docs.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Take Advantage of Lower Gas Fees

1. Monitor Gas Prices: Use tools like Etherscan to keep track of gas prices.

2. Plan Transactions: Schedule your transactions during low gas periods to save even more, per Ethereum.org.

3. Explore L2s: Even with lower gas fees on L1, L2s like Polygon or Optimism might still offer cheaper transactions, per Polygon Docs.

4. Review Your Strategies: If you’ve been holding off on certain yield plays due to high fees, now might be the time to act, per Cointelegraph.

Closing Thought – Final Insights or Predictions

The gas limit increase is a game-changer for Ethereum and, by extension, for the entire DeFi ecosystem. It’s likely to make yield farming and staking more efficient and profitable for users. However, it’s essential to stay informed and adapt your strategies as the network evolves. So, are you ready to take advantage of lower gas fees to boost your yields? Let’s see what the future holds!

Read More:

• Check Etherscan for gas price updates.

• Read Ethereum.org for gas fee details.

• Explore Cointelegraph for impact analysis.

It’s unexpected that lower gas fees could make DeFi much more accessible, but network congestion might keep fees high, which beginners might not anticipate. Please send us an email at info@theyieldstacker and let’s chat!

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📈 Chart of the Week: Restaking Total Value Locked (TVL) in DeFi Continues to Grow

The restaking sector’s total value locked (TVL) was on a downward slope since early 2025. But the past few weeks it has continued its upward trajectory, now standing at $19.5 billion, up from $17 billion, according to data from DeFiLlama. This growth shows more money is flowing into restaking platforms, making it a hot spot for earning extra yields.

Why It Matters?

A rising TVL means more capital is entering restaking, which can lead to increased liquidity and potentially higher yields for users. It also signals positive market sentiment, showing DeFi’s appetite for innovative yield strategies. However, if most funds go to big players like EigenLayer, smaller platforms might struggle, affecting your options.

Takeaway for DeFi Users (You)

For beginners, now’s a great time to explore restaking for extra rewards on staked assets, like stETH on EigenLayer. Start small, research platforms with high TVL for safety, and keep an eye on market shifts to adjust your strategy. Stay flexible and don’t put all your eggs in one basket!

⚠️ Beginner Mistake to Avoid

❌ Beginner Mistake to Avoid: Not Accounting for Gas Fees in Yield Calculations

One of the biggest mistakes beginners make in the world of decentralized finance (DeFi) is not considering gas fees when calculating their yields. Gas fees are the costs associated with performing transactions on the blockchain, and they can eat into your profits more than you might realize.

Why This Matters

When you’re looking at the annual percentage yield (APY) or annual percentage rate (APR) offered by a protocol, that number typically doesn’t include the gas fees you pay to deposit, withdraw, or perform other actions. So, if you’re not factoring in these costs, your actual returns could be lower than what’s advertised.

For example, let’s say a lending platform offers a 5% APY on USDC. If you deposit $1,000, you might expect to earn $50 in a year. However, if you pay $10 in gas fees to deposit and another $10 to withdraw, that’s $20 in total fees. Over a year, that’s like losing $20 from your earnings, which reduces your net yield to about 3% ($50 - $20 = $30, which is 3% of $1,000).

How to Avoid This Mistake

To avoid this, always calculate the net yield by subtracting the total gas fees you expect to pay from your total earnings.

Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Estimate Gas Fees: Look up the current gas prices on platforms like Etherscan or GasNow. For Ethereum, gas fees can range from a few dollars to tens of dollars per transaction.

2. Calculate Total Fees: Determine how many transactions you’ll make. For example, one deposit and one withdrawal per year.

3. Subtract Fees from Earnings: Subtract the total expected gas fees from your total expected earnings from the APY.

4. Adjust Your Strategy: If the net yield isn’t as attractive as you thought, consider platforms with lower gas fees, like Layer 2 solutions (L2s) such as Polygon or Optimism, or look for protocols that offer gas fee rebates.

Practical Example
Let’s say you’re looking to stake ETH on Lido for stETH, which offers an APY of 4%. You plan to deposit $1,000 worth of ETH and withdraw it after a year.

• Deposit Gas Fee: Approximately $10

• Withdrawal Gas Fee: Approximately $10

• Total Gas Fees: $20

Your expected earnings from APY:

• $1,000 * 4% = $40

Your net earnings after gas fees:

• $40 - $20 = $20, which is a net yield of 2% ($20 / $1,000)

This shows that gas fees can significantly reduce your net yield. So, always factor them in!

Takeaway

Always remember to account for gas fees when calculating your expected yields in DeFi. It’s a small but crucial detail that can make a big difference in your bottom line. Stay informed, plan accordingly, and happy stacking!

📖 [More DeFi Tips] → [How to Maximize Staking Rewards]

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