Renzo (ezETH): liquid restaking rating breakdown
A liquid restaking token whose yield currently sits below plain staking — which makes it a hard one to justify on today’s numbers, even though the underlying technology is sound.
A liquid restaking token whose yield currently sits below plain staking — which makes it a hard one to justify on today’s numbers, even though the underlying technology is sound.
How the score is built
Each criterion is scored 0–10 and weighted. The median column is the middle score across every entry in this ranking, so a row reads as a position rather than a number.
| Criterion | What we measured | Weight | Score | Category median | Rank | Weighted gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restaking risk, disclosed | — | 30% | 2 | 3 | 4 of 5 | -0.30 |
| Is “liquid” actually true? | — | 30% | 2 | 2 | 2 of 5 | 0.00 |
| Does it beat simply staking? | 2.135 net yield · sourced · 2026-07-15 · source2.226 plain stETH pays · sourced · 2026-07-15 | 20% | 3 | 8 | 4 of 5 | -1.00 |
| Custody and slashing cover | — | 12% | 5 | 5 | 3 of 5 | 0.00 |
| Do they tell you what they take? | 0.2% exit fee on principal · published · 2026-07-15 · source | 8% | 5 | 6 | 4 of 5 | -0.08 |
Measured 15 July 2026 · weights and method · decided by does it beat simply staking?, worth -1.00 points against the median
Restaking risk, disclosed: 2/10
EigenLayer slashing has been live since April 2025, and redistribution now lets a service take your slashed funds rather than burn them. We ask whether the extra risk is quantified for the holder: which services the stake is delegated to, what the maximum loss is, and who decides. It essentially never is.
Scored 2 of 10 against a category median of 3, which places it 4th of 5 among liquid restaking on this criterion. At a 30% weight that is 0.30 points below the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 10, the worst 2.
Is “liquid” actually true?: 2/10
Outstanding value against the depth genuinely available to sell into. ezETH wicked 73% in April 2024 on a fully-backed token because there was no market underneath it. Every token here is thinner than the liquid staking token it wraps, and the ratio is the score.
Scored 2 of 10 against a category median of 2, which places it 2nd of 5 among liquid restaking on this criterion. At a 30% weight that is exactly level with the median of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 5, the worst 1.
Does it beat simply staking?: 3/10
Measured against plain staking, not against other restaked tokens. A token paying less than a plain stake while adding a slashing layer is not a yield product, and it is scored as what it is.
Scored 3 of 10 against a category median of 8, which places it 4th of 5 among liquid restaking on this criterion. At a 20% weight that is 1.00 points below the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 8, the worst 1.
Custody and slashing cover: 5/10
Do you hold an asset or an IOU, who can change the operator set, and what covers a slashing event — a claim you own, a fund of stated size, or a governance vote after the fact.
Scored 5 of 10 against a category median of 5, which places it 3rd of 5 among liquid restaking on this criterion. At a 12% weight that is exactly level with the median of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 7, the worst 5.
Do they tell you what they take?: 5/10
Whether the advertised rate is net of the protocol’s cut, and whether the formula and the raw inputs are published so a holder can recompute it.
Scored 5 of 10 against a category median of 6, which places it 4th of 5 among liquid restaking on this criterion. At a 8% weight that is 0.08 points below the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 8, the worst 4.
Its nearest neighbours in this ranking
| # | Entry | Does it beat simply staking? | How it differs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | ether.fi (weETH) | 8 | Ahead by 5 on does it beat simply staking?. |
| 3 | Kelp DAO (rsETH) | 8 | Ahead by 5 on does it beat simply staking?. |
| 5 | Puffer (pufETH) | 1 | Behind by 2 on does it beat simply staking?. |
Incidents priced into this score
- 2024-04-24 — ezETH fell to about 0.27 ETH — a 73% discount — after a token-unlock schedule sent holders for the exit. Thin liquidity turned selling into liquidations, which sold more ezETH into the same book. [users made whole: n/a] [source]
Questions about this score
Why would anyone hold ezETH if it yields less than stETH?
+
On today's numbers, we could not construct an argument for it, and we say so. The technology is sound and the yield may change — restaking rewards depend on what services are paying for security. What a holder should not do is assume a premium exists because the category is marketed as higher-yielding.
What happened to ezETH in April 2024?
+
It wicked down roughly 73% around a token unlock, on a fully-backed position, because there was no depth to absorb the selling. The underlying collateral was never impaired. It is one of four such events in this sector, and the reason depth carries 30% of the score on this page.