Ether.fi Launches Neobank Upgrade With Tokenized Stocks and a Dedicated Aave Lending Market

Ether.fi went live this week with the 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, as the protocol pushes to become a full alternative to traditional banking rather than a purely DeFi-focused product.

What’s New in the “Summer” Release 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 rather than on a centralized exchange.

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.

On the lending side, ether.fi deployed a dedicated Aave V4 instance on Optimism, giving users a way to borrow against their entire portfolio at rates currently around 4% and spend the proceeds directly through the ether.fi Cash card.