The decision by ether.fi, once Ethereum's top liquid restaking protocol, to pivot to a crypto neobank comes as restaking yields have dried up and smart-contract risks mounted. The restaking category, which saw EigenLayer peak at $19.7 billion, now holds $10.02 billion but generated only $99,977 in fees over the prior week, with ordinary staking earning roughly 53 times more per dollar secured. Risks were highlighted by a $293 million hack on Kelp in April 2025, where an attacker exploited its cross-chain bridge.