ether.fi began as a liquid restaking protocol whose loyalty points fed several ETHFI airdrop seasons. In 2026 it looks more like a crypto neobank. The app is built around ether.fi Cash, a card with cashback. Points now decide your membership level, not a token allocation, and restaking rewards are folded into your eETH and weETH balances instead of being paid as a separate token. If you hold weETH or use the Cash card, it helps to know which “rewards” are automatic, which ones you need to claim, and which so-called ether.fi airdrops are fake.
What ether.fi offers today
The core staking product has not changed. Deposit ETH and you receive eETH, or its wrapped, non-rebasing form weETH. ether.fi describes weETH as a liquid restaking token backed by natively restaked ETH at the protocol level. Around it, the app now offers:
- Stake: weETH, eBTC, beHYPE (staked HYPE), sETHFI (staked ETHFI), frxUSD, and staked gold (PAXGy).
- Liquid vaults: automated strategy vaults that deploy deposits across DeFi.
- Cash: a crypto-backed card with category cashback, travel perks, bank transfers and trading. Staked assets such as weETH and sETHFI can serve as collateral for spending.
The official site is ether.fi, and the app is at ether.fi/app. Product questions are answered in the ether.fi Help Center, and the older documentation is kept on the ether.fi GitBook.
From loyalty points to ETHFI: the history
ether.fi’s first points program was simple. In Season 1, every 0.001 ETH staked earned one loyalty point per day. From 15 March 2024 a tenfold boost applied, making it 10 points per 0.001 ETH per day. Points also accrued on eETH and weETH used in DeFi integrations, and ether.fi promised to pass “100% of points” from partners like EigenLayer through to users. One incident is worth remembering: between 13 and 21 February 2024 a UI bug double-counted DeFi integration points, which ether.fi later corrected. Points dashboards can be wrong, and the protocol’s final numbers are what count.
Those loyalty points fed the ETHFI token launch in March 2024 and several later seasonal airdrops. Those claim windows belong to the past. At the time of writing, ether.fi has not announced another loyalty-points airdrop season. Its points program now serves a different purpose, explained below.
How rewards work in 2026
Staking and restaking yield: automatic
ETH staking rewards build up in eETH and weETH and compound with no action from you. Restaking rewards from ether.fi’s King Protocol work the same way. Rewards are routed into the liquidity pool and show up through rebasing of eETH and weETH, about weekly, with no fixed date. In earlier periods these rewards were paid as KING tokens. ether.fi’s help center says KING you collected before the switch is still valid and can be claimed from the portfolio page or kingprotocol.org.
Membership points: they decide your tier, not an airdrop
The current points program feeds four membership levels: Core, Luxe, Pinnacle and VIP. According to ether.fi’s help center, points build up daily:
| Activity | Points |
|---|---|
| Staked assets | 1.5 per $1,000 per day |
| Liquid vault deposits | 10 per $1,000 per day |
| Card spending | 1,000 per $1,000 spent |
| Staked ETHFI | 5 per 1,000 ETHFI per day |
Trading and borrowing also earn points. Luxe needs 5,000 points to unlock and 5,000 a month to keep, and Pinnacle needs 25,000. You can also skip ahead by depositing in Liquid ($15,000 for Luxe, $100,000 for Pinnacle, $500,000 for VIP), by staking ETHFI, or by buying an annual membership ($199 for Luxe, $999 for Pinnacle). Higher tiers boost cashback and travel perks. ether.fi does not describe these points as convertible into ETHFI.
Cashback and sETHFI
Cashback from the Cash card can be claimed once your claimable balance reaches at least $5. Some cashback stays locked for a period first, and the help center explains when it unlocks. Staking ETHFI as sETHFI earns more ETHFI that compounds into your balance, counts toward membership tier, and can serve as spending collateral. ether.fi says the APY is variable and not guaranteed.
How to track your ether.fi rewards step by step
- Sign in through ether.fi. Use the app link on ether.fi and open the Earn page for staking positions.
- Check weETH value, not token count. weETH’s ETH exchange rate rises as staking and King rewards build up. The help center explains how to view historical eETH and weETH yield.
- Look for legacy KING. If you held eETH or weETH before King rewards switched to rebasing, check the portfolio page for claimable KING.
- Check membership points in the Cash tab. That is where your daily accrual and current level appear. If you hold weETH in a self-custody wallet, link it to your membership account using the help center’s external-wallet guide.
- Claim cashback once it unlocks. The $5 minimum and the lock period both apply.
- Withdraw through the documented route. To turn weETH into ETH, choose Withdraw on the Earn page and switch the asset to eETH to start the unstaking request. The help center notes the app cannot always withdraw directly, depending on where your weETH is held, and that waiting times depend on network conditions.
Risks specific to ether.fi
- Restaking and slashing. weETH is backed by natively restaked ETH. A slashing event in the restaking layer, or a validator fault in ether.fi’s node network, would reduce the ETH behind each token.
- Withdrawal waits. ether.fi lists no fixed lock period, but unstaking goes through a protocol queue and the beacon-chain exit. In a rush to exit, weETH on DEXs can trade below its redemption value.
- Collateral use in Cash. Using weETH or sETHFI as spending collateral ties your card to the price of those assets. A sharp fall can reduce your credit limit or force a position to close.
- Bridged weETH. weETH can be bridged to other chains. Those versions depend on the bridge, and some withdrawal routes need the token back on Ethereum first.
- Custodial and compliance layers. Card, bank-transfer and travel features run through regulated partners and need identity verification. They may be unavailable in some regions and can be suspended under partner policies.
- Paying for a tier. Buying Luxe or Pinnacle only makes sense if the extra cashback and perks are worth more than the fee. Do the maths against your real card spending.
Spotting fake ether.fi claim pages
The only real addresses are ether.fi (with the app at ether.fi/app), help.ether.fi, and the GitBook docs. The official X account is @ether_fi, and support writes only from the ether.fi domain. Common scams include “ETHFI Season airdrop” checkers on look-alike domains such as etherfi-claim or ether-fi.app, fake “KING rewards claim” pages using the King Protocol name, and fake card-support agents asking for your login code. A real staking or KING claim only interacts with ether.fi’s contracts. No legitimate flow asks for your seed phrase, a Cash login code, or a signature approving all your weETH to an unfamiliar address.
FAQ
Do I need to claim restaking rewards on weETH?
No. King rewards are added to eETH and weETH through rebasing, roughly weekly. Only KING collected before that change needs claiming.
Do membership points lead to an ETHFI airdrop?
ether.fi describes them as counting toward membership tiers and perks, not toward a token distribution.
How many points does staking earn?
1.5 points per $1,000 staked per day. Liquid vault deposits earn 10 per $1,000 per day, and card spending earns 1,000 per $1,000.
Is sETHFI locked?
The help center says staking ETHFI for membership involves no lockups, and withdrawals follow a guided process. Read it before you stake.
Verdict
ether.fi’s rewards in 2026 are mostly built in or tied to the card. Restaking yield goes straight into weETH, membership points unlock cashback tiers, and sETHFI compounds ETHFI. That is a cleaner setup than the points-for-airdrop years, but it also means “claim your ether.fi airdrop” messages are almost certainly phishing. Track your position by weETH’s ETH value and your tier in the Cash tab, and ignore everything else.
For information only, not financial advice. Restaked ETH can be slashed, and crypto-backed cards carry collateral and counterparty risk.
