[DigitalToday reporter Chi-gyu Hwang (황치규)] Restaking is drawing attention as a new revenue model in decentralised finance (DeFi), but in reality it is adding risk more than returns, Cointelegraph reported on Jan. 23 (local time).

According to the report, restaking uses assets that have already been staked to earn additional rewards, but it acts as simple leverage rather than efficiency. The same Ethereum (ETH) serves as duplicated collateral across multiple protocols, increasing risk, it said.

If a governance failure or a slashing event occurs in one protocol, the fallout can spread to higher-level protocols and collateral can disappear entirely. Cointelegraph also said only large operators can participate because managing complex validator positions is required, undermining the essence of decentralisation.

According to the report, restaking yields do not come from productive activity. It said the structure is similar to reuse in traditional finance, repackaging the same assets rather than creating real value. Returns mainly stem from increased token issuance, venture capital liquidity incentives and speculative fees from highly volatile native tokens. Cointelegraph said this structure is not sustainable and is not linked to realistic economic value.