Ether.fi launches portfolio borrowing via Aave V4 on Optimism. Monday, august 24, 2026. Ether.fi launches portfolio borrowing through Aave V4 on Optimism. This integration expands user capabilities - here's what it means. * Ether.fi has launched a portfolio borrowing feature on Aave V4 (Optimism Mainnet), allowing users to borrow against a wider range of tokenized assets like stocks and metals. * This integration aims to enhance liquidity options for users within the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. * The move signifies Ether.fi's expansion into more complex financial products and its strategic positioning within the competitive DeFi sector, though regulatory scrutiny and market volatility remain potential risks. Topics: Integration with defi, Asset types, Rwa collateral lending, Alternative assets, Financial instruments

Ether.fi expands app with tokenized stocks and metals and crypto loans. * August 14, 2026 Key takeaways: * Ether.fi's app now lets users trade tokenized stocks and metals alongside crypto. * Users can borrow against their entire crypto portfolio at rates currently near 4% without selling those assets. * The update adds more payment options, including Apple Pay and Cash App, but stock and metals trading is unavailable in the US and some other markets. Ether.fi, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that lets users manage crypto without giving a company control (custody) of their funds, launched a major update to its banking-style app on Thursday, 13 August 2026. The update adds trading in tokenized stocks and metals, borrowing against an entire crypto portfolio, and new ways to move money in and out of the app. Ether.fi describes the app as a single tool for earning yield (returns), trading, borrowing, and spending, with the goal of replacing a traditional bank account. How the new trading and borrowing tools work. Users can now buy tokenized stocks and metals, digital tokens that track the price of real shares or commodities like gold, through a partnership with xStocks. These assets sit in self-custodial vaults, meaning Ether.fi does not directly hold users' funds. A backup feature called social recovery can also help users regain access to their account if they lose their login credentials. A new lending service is powered by Aave, a widely used DeFi lending platform, and operates on Optimism, a faster and cheaper blockchain network that runs alongside the main Ethereum blockchain. Through this service, users can borrow against their whole crypto investment portfolio at rates currently near 4% and spend the borrowed funds through the Ether.fi Cash Visa card without selling those assets used as collateral. Ether.fi CEO Mike Silagadze said the app's goal is to replace the traditional bank for most users. He credited self-custody and DeFi technology with making it possible to offer tools and benefits that were previously available mainly to institutions and wealthy clients. New payment rails and market restrictions. The app now supports deposits and withdrawals in over 30 additional currencies, with payment methods such as Apple Pay and Cash App. Cash card users also get 3% cash back on purchases, while Ether.fi has removed top-up fees for everyone and waived foreign-exchange fees for higher membership tiers. Ether.fi has also added automatic ETHFI buybacks to its smart contracts, funded from revenue across its products. A token buyback involves using company or platform revenue to purchase the project's own token. Tokenized stock and metals trading is unavailable to users in the US and certain other markets. Part of a wider push by crypto companies into banking. The launch is part of a wider push by crypto companies to build neobanks, apps that combine banking-style services with crypto features. Major crypto exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and OKX, have also added tokenized stocks and other banking-style features. Ether.fi said it has about 500,000 users and about 150,000 issued cards. The company built its business around Ethereum staking, where users lock crypto to help secure the blockchain network, and restaking. Restaking lets those staked assets be reused in other blockchain-based services for additional rewards. Ether.fi has since expanded into card payments and portfolio lending. Separately, the dedicated Aave lending service requested by Ether.fi is still awaiting a final governance vote from Aave's community. Ashish sood.

ether.fi launches next-generation crypto neobank. GEORGE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA, August 13, 2026 / EINPresswire.com / - The first fully integrated alternative to banks goes beyond what traditional finance can offer: a crypto neobank where users can earn, trade, borrow, and spend their crypto in the real world. George Town, Cayman Islands - August 13, 2026 - ether.fi, the first and largest non-custodial crypto neobank, today announced the next generation of its product as part of the ether.fi Summer release. The release brings saving, earning, trading, borrowing, and spending together into a single integrated experience built to replace the traditional bank. For the first time, it goes beyond what is possible in traditional finance rather than simply replicating it. Users can now trade tokenized stocks, metals, and crypto assets directly in the app. An integrated Aave market lets them lend their assets and borrow against their entire portfolio in order to spend, send, or buy. New fiat rails allow money to be sent and received globally, including through named accounts. The release also introduces a redesigned ether.fi app built for a much broader audience. Less crypto-forward and simpler to navigate, it is designed to usher in a new era of adoption that reaches well beyond the crypto gambling use case. The ether.fi Summer release introduces next-generation features that set a new standard for the crypto neobank category. The integrated ether.fi experience offers the user experience of a traditional fintech app while giving users the benefits of self-custody, lower fees, and the higher rewards available in DeFi. New features in the release include: * Trading in tokenized stocks, metals, and crypto assets * Borrowing against an entire portfolio through an integrated Aave market * Sending and receiving fiat anywhere in the world * Programmatic ETHFI token buybacks Tokenized stocks are offered through xStocks, alongside metals and other crypto assets. Users can buy natively across chains, with every asset held securely in an ether.fi vault protected by social recovery. Borrowing. A new integrated Aave market on Optimism allows users to borrow against the value of their entire portfolio, at standard DeFi rates currently around 4%, to spend on the ether.fi Cash card or to send or buy other assets. Fiat rails. New on- and off-ramps support over 30 new currencies and payment methods including Cash App, Apple Pay, and Interac, with named accounts for deposits. ETHFI buybacks. The release introduces programmatic buybacks of ETHFI at the protocol level from every product and revenue line built into the protocol contracts. In addition, the ether.fi app gives users access to best-in-class benefits, including: * 3% cash back on all purchases made with the ether.fi Cash card * The ability to hold yield-bearing assets and use them as collateral or spend them directly * Zero top-up fees for all Cash users * Zero FX fees at higher membership tiers Availability The new ether.fi functionality is available to all new and existing users today. Some features, including trading in tokenized stocks and metals, are not available in the United States and certain other markets. From the ether.fi team "With ether.fi, we're bridging the gap between decentralized finance and everyday financial needs," said Mike Silagadze, CEO of ether.fi. "Our goal is to replace the traditional bank for most users and give them tools and benefits that were previously available only to institutions and high-net-worth individuals. That is the power of DeFi and self-custody." About ether.fi ether.fi launched in 2024 and helped create the category of self-custodial crypto neobanks. It is the largest crypto neobank, with more than half a million members and a $2 billion annual transaction run-rate. Media contact All media inquiries should be directed to [email protected]. Karnika Yashwant KEY Difference Wire email Today in Business here Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. Today in Business do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.