ether.fi Unveils Tokenized Stocks and Aave Lending Market in Major Neobank Upgrade

ether.fi has released its biggest upgrade yet to its non-custodial 'neobank' app, adding tokenized stock and metals trading, a dedicated Aave lending market for portfolio-backed borrowing, and programmatic buybacks of its ETHFI governance token. The protocol pushes to become a full alternative to traditional banking rather than a purely DeFi-focused product.

The centerpiece of the update is a new integration with xStocks that lets eligible users trade tokenized equities and metals alongside their crypto holdings, all held in self-custodial vaults with social recovery features. Tokenized stock trading will not be available in the United States or certain other markets at launch, reflecting the regulatory patchwork still surrounding tokenized securities.

The new lending side feature is a dedicated Aave V4 instance on Optimism, giving users a way to borrow against their entire portfolio at rates currently around 4%. The company says the new credit backend already carries $22 million in active borrowing, with a stated target of $500 million in lending capacity by 2027. Card users get 3% cash back on purchases.