Restaking

Restaking is a DeFi and staking mechanism that lets someone use crypto they have already staked, or a liquid staking token that represents it, to support additional blockchain networks, protocols, or services. In a normal proof-of-stake system, staked assets help secure one network and earn rewards for that role. With restaking, the same economic value can be “reused” to provide security elsewhere, such as for data availability layers, bridges, or other decentralized services that need validators or operators to behave honestly.

It matters because restaking can make it easier for new protocols to borrow security from an established staking base instead of building their own from scratch. For users, it may create an extra source of rewards, but it can also add extra risk: if the service being secured has slashing rules, technical failures, or smart contract bugs, the restaked assets may be partially lost or locked. A simple comparison is renting out a house you already own: it can produce additional income, but it also creates new responsibilities and potential damage beyond ordinary ownership.