What is Restaking?

Restaking lets tokens that are already staked do double duty by also securing other applications or networks, potentially earning additional rewards on top of the base staking yield. It is a newer idea that grew out of proof-of-stake ecosystems looking to share security.

The attraction is stacking rewards from one pool of capital. The catch is stacked risk: if the extra services you help secure have their own slashing conditions, your stake can be penalised in more ways than with plain staking. More reward usually means more exposure.

Example: a user stakes to a network, then opts that staked position into a restaking protocol that also secures a data-availability service, earning a second stream of rewards while accepting the second set of rules.

Safety note: restaking is more complex than basic staking, and complexity hides risk. Understand every slashing condition before opting in, favour audited protocols, and never commit funds you cannot afford to lose to chase the highest advertised yield. Related terms include staking, slashing, liquid staking, and smart contract.