Ether.fi adds tokenised stocks and a lending market

Ether.fi announced a rebuild of its consumer application on 13 August. The additions are tokenised stocks and metals, unavailable in the United States and some other markets; an Aave borrowing market on Optimism that lends against the full portfolio rather than a single asset; payments in more than thirty currencies; Apple Pay and Cash App support; and 3% cashback on card spending. Product revenue is directed into automated ETHFI buybacks.

The company reports roughly 500,000 users and about 150,000 cards issued. Borrowing rates on the new Aave market are around 4%.

Where the interesting risk sits

Lending against a whole portfolio is the substantive change, and it cuts both ways. It removes the need to unwind a position to raise cash, which is the usual reason retail users sell at the wrong moment. It also means a liquidation event is portfolio-wide rather than confined to one collateral type.

Chief executive Mike Silagadze framed the release as positioning the firm to replace a traditional bank for most users, and the company's own line is one app to replace your traditional bank.

That framing invites a comparison the product does not yet satisfy. Deposit insurance, settlement guarantees and a supervised complaints process are what the word bank carries; a card, a payment rail and a lending market are the visible surface of one. The distance between the two is exactly where a consumer-facing DeFi product either matures or gets its regulatory attention.