Last week, ether.fi hosted its latest analyst call. If you’ve been following us for a while, you know that we strongly appreciate this kind of live format.
At GLC, we value teams that demonstrate transparency and consistent reporting to their stakeholders, and we hope to see this type of communication become the standard across the industry.
That said, we also understand that not everyone has the time to tune in and listen to the full session. That’s why we provide summaries like this one.
Let’s Dive in !
What is Eth.fi ?
To provide some context, ether.fi describes itself as a DeFi bank with the long-term vision of delivering a complete suite of onchain financial services. The goal is to allow users to earn, borrow, invest, and spend digital assets within a single composable ecosystem.
The platform currently offers three core products.
- Stake: The Savings Account: Users can stake digital assets, primarily ETH, to earn yield.
- Liquid: The Investment Account: Users can deploy assets into non-custodial DeFi vaults and currently earn around 4% on BTC, 5% on ETH, and 10% on USD.
- Cash: Borrowing and Spending Tools: Users can borrow against their crypto assets and spend seamlessly in real life through the ether.fi card.
The protocol is growing fast
During the call, ether.fi reviewed the recent achievements and growth across its product suite, and it is clear that the protocol is gaining strong momentum.
Launched just six months ago, the Cash product, which allows users to spend their crypto via a card, has quickly become the protocol’s primary growth driver.
ether.fi has already surpassed $120M in cumulative card transaction volume and is now nearing $1.5M in daily card transactions, with numbers continuing to rise. Each week, several thousand new users sign up and join the Cash product.
For transparency, GLC joined cash as well for our business expenses, we will keep you updated with our honest opinion on the daily card use.
The team also highlighted that Cash acts as a key entry point into the broader ether.fi ecosystem. Growth in Cash directly drives increases in the TVL of both Stake and Liquid products, creating a powerful user flywheel where spending behavior fuels long-term ecosystem engagement.
From a TVL standpoint, the protocol has seen a decline since the end of Q3, largely driven by the recent drop in ETH price. Because ETH represents the majority of assets deposited in the Stake and Liquid products, market movements have had a direct impact on total TVL figures.
However, it is important to note that ether.fi’s USD vaults continue to grow steadily. This increase is primarily fueled by new users entering through the Cash product, many of whom deposit stablecoins into the vaults before spending with the card. The Liquid USD vault, which currently offers around 10% yield on stablecoins without requiring active management, is also a strong contributor to stablecoin TVL growth.
To further strengthen overall TVL, ether.fi is placing significant focus on institutional capital, which the team views as more resilient and longer-term. The protocol recently announced partnerships with three ETH DATs: Shaplink, Ethzilla, and Gamesquare, all of which are in the process of deploying capital onto the protocol.
Ether.fi Financial Performance
Ether.fi then presented its financial statement along with projections through the end of the year. This degree of openness is something we value highly at GLC, as it reflects a strong commitment to transparency and accountability.
Revenues have climbed steadily throughout the year, and the team expects to generate $18M in Q4, equivalent to $72M on an annualized basis.
The Cash product, launched just six months ago, continues to accelerate and is on track to significantly outperform Liquid’s revenues this quarter. If current growth persists, Cash could overtake Stake revenues as soon as 2026.
A major strength of ether.fi, especially compared to most DeFi protocols, is the diversification of its revenue sources. With three distinct products, the protocol benefits from three independent income streams. Notably, Cash is uncorrelated to ETH price, as its revenue depends on daily card spending rather than market conditions, providing a valuable stabilizing effect.
This rapid expansion, however, comes with increased investment. Marketing spend for Cash rose sharply from $2M in Q3 to $4.6M in Q4.
In Q4, Cash generated $5.9M in revenue against $4.6M in costs, resulting in $1.3M in profit. While margins remain modest at this stage, the team is intentionally prioritizing user acquisition. Given Cash’s long-term potential, capturing market share early is viewed as essential, with the expectation that margins will improve as the user base scales.
Why Choose a DeFi Bank? ether.fi vs Neobanks
During the call, the team discussed ether.fi’s positioning within the competitive landscape of digital banking. According to CEO Mike Silagadze, ether.fi’s ambition is to build a neobank on top of crypto rails, offering users the same everyday financial services but with the efficiency and advantages of onchain infrastructure.
Operating this model onchain creates a significant structural advantage. The team explained that if they were running the same deposit base, roughly $10B, in a traditional financial institution, they would require around 500 employees instead of the 34 they operate with today, resulting in a far larger cost structure. The efficiency gains from blockchain allow ether.fi to pass value directly back to users.
This translates into better rewards, such as 3% cashback on all spending, lower fees, and globally accessible services. Being directly integrated into DeFi also enables ether.fi to offer compelling yield opportunities through its Stake and Liquid products, where users can currently earn approximately 10% on stablecoins and 5% on ETH.
Another key advantage is that ether.fi does not take custody of user assets, which allows the company to bypass many of the heavy regulatory and licensing requirements faced by traditional banks or neobanks. This makes it significantly faster and easier for ether.fi to expand into new markets.
To put their progress in perspective, the team compared their growth trajectory to that of Revolut, illustrating the scale they have achieved in a remarkably short period.
ether.fi Roadmap: New Features, Integrations, and 2025 Expansion
Ether.fi outlined an ambitious roadmap for the coming quarters, highlighting product upgrades, ecosystem integrations, and new market expansions aimed at accelerating the protocol’s growth.
One of the most significant additions is the upcoming launch of ether.fi Trade, built through Hyperliquid’s builder codes. This product will enable users to trade perpetuals directly using the assets they already have deployed in the Vaults, creating deeper composability across the platform. Trade will also introduce a new revenue stream for ether.fi.
Ether.fi is clearly doubling down on Hyperliquid. The recent integration of beHYPE, the staked version of Hype created by Hyperbeat, into the Cash product illustrates this commitment. Users can now borrow against their HYPE holdings and spend seamlessly via the card, further expanding asset utility within the ecosystem.
The team also plans to broaden the range of supported assets. In parallel, they are preparing to launch a Liquid US Vault, specifically tailored for U.S.-based investors and offering compliant access to curated yield opportunities.
Beyond product innovation, ether.fi has secured a strong lineup of ecosystem partnerships scheduled for late Q4 and early Q1. Improvements to the Cash product are also planned for early next year, with the goal of enhancing user experience and sustaining the strong adoption momentum.
Collectively, these developments support ether.fi’s strategy of building a unified and interconnected onchain financial ecosystem, positioning the protocol for continued rapid growth in 2025 and beyond.
Closing Thoughts
The latest analyst call confirmed ether.fi’s success in executing its “DeFi bank” vision, driven by transparent communication and accelerating growth.
The Cash product is a highly effective engine, not only driving transaction volume (near $1.5M daily) but also creating a powerful flywheel that funnels new users into the yielding products (Stake and Liquid).
Financially, the projected $72M annualized revenue run rate by Q4, backed by a diversified, three-product revenue model, is a key strength. The Cash product’s revenue stream is uncorrelated to volatile crypto markets, providing crucial stability. While current margins are reinvested, the strategy of prioritizing user acquisition is essential for long-term scale and profitability.
Ultimately, ether.fi’s onchain architecture provides a significant structural advantage enabling greater efficiency and the ability to offer superior value (e.g., higher yields and 3% cashback) directly to users. With an ambitious roadmap, including the upcoming Ether.fi Trade product, ether.fi is well-positioned for continued rapid growth in the onchain financial ecosystem.
