Native Restaking
Web3 / mining staking
A restaking approach in which Ethereum validators extend their staked ETH to secure additional protocols by pointing their validator withdrawal credentials directly at EigenLayer's contracts, without depositing into an intermediary liquid restaking token (LRT) protocol. Most users access EigenLayer through liquid restaking protocols like Ether.fi or Renzo, which manage validator operations and AVS delegation on behalf of depositors, issuing a tradeable LRT in return. Native restaking bypasses this intermediate layer: the validator operator directly configures their withdrawal key to recognize EigenLayer's smart contracts and selects which Actively Validated Services to opt into, accepting potential slashing risk in exchange for AVS reward streams. This approach preserves more of Ethereum's trust-minimized design and avoids the additional smart contract risk and centralization associated with LRT protocol operators, but requires owning 32 ETH and running or delegating validator infrastructure. Example: Puffer Finance built a native liquid restaking protocol designed to lower the 32 ETH barrier for validators interested in native restaking. Its pufETH token represents natively restaked ETH managed through shared validator infrastructure, allowing smaller capital holders to participate in native restaking without sacrificing control of validator keys, while qualifying for both Ethereum staking rewards and EigenLayer AVS rewards. Why it matters for Web3: Native restaking represents the more trust-minimized end of the restaking spectrum, important because every intermediary protocol added between a staker and their validator introduces new smart contract risk and potential centralization points. As restaking matures, the tradeoff between the convenience of LRTs and the security benefits of native restaking will remain a key structural question for how Ethereum's economic security is extended across the broader ecosystem.
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