Decentralized finance (DeFi) staking platforms have become popular. They present consumers with incredibly powerful economic incentives to earn rewards on their digital assets. These platforms give users the ability to directly engage in the validation and security of blockchain networks with the promise of locking up their tokens. With the DeFi ecosystem on the rise, there are a few platforms leading the charge. This post takes a look at the top DeFi staking platforms that are going to have the biggest influence in 2025. For depositors, it shows their supported assets, fee-less structures and estimated Annual Percentage Yields (APYs).

EigenLayer

EigenLayer is a permissionless restaking platform that allows a rich array of assets to pledge support. You can stake ETH, liquid staking tokens such as stETH, rETH, cbETH, and LsETH, ERC-20 tokens, and its native EIGEN token. This flexibility gives users options to stake various assets based on what they hold and what they want to do. The platform is compatible with native ETH and all major liquid staking derivatives. This versatility allows various users in the Ethereum ecosystem to get drawn to it, thereby increasing its popularity and usage.

EigenLayer has a default operator fee of 10% fixed. This fee is deducted from the staking rewards earned by users and paid to the node operators who maintain the network's infrastructure. This fixed fee structure introduces an element of transparency and predictability into the staking process, which allows stakers to more accurately estimate their potential earnings.

The platform's broad asset support and transparent fee structure position it as a significant player in the DeFi staking landscape. By being possible to use with any token and with any staking mechanism, EigenLayer can appeal to a broad array of users. The fixed operator fee model ensures that any node operators’ costs are covered by fairly compensating them for the services they provide. This method helps strengthen the platform’s overall stability and security.

EtherFi

EtherFi is another ETH staking-first platform that supports stETH. This new platform focuses on providing liquid staking services exclusively. Users can stake their ETH without losing access to their liquidity stETH, a representative token that’s usable across DeFi applications. The exclusive focus on ETH and its LSD allows EtherFi to provide a simple, integrated, and hassle-free staking experience.

EtherFi takes an annualized platform fee of 1% for its Liquid Vaults. Currently, we base this fee on the total amount in assets held in vaults. It goes towards the cost of moving us all around and keeping our engines running, while fueling our capacity to build. An annualized fee structure clarifies the revenue stream for the platform, allowing for long-term planning.

By concentrating on ETH and stETH, EtherFi provides a specialized staking service that caters to users seeking both staking rewards and liquidity. The platform’s Liquid Vaults present a wonderful, albeit risky, opportunity. Users can now earn staking rewards and enjoy liquidity on their staked assets! The 1% annualized platform fee is very competitive within the DeFi space. EtherFi launches making it a no-brainer option for ETH stakers.

Ethena

Ethena’s native asset Ethena plays a major role in the staking process, which provides a variety of staking options within Ethena’s ecosystem. The platform’s mission is to provide the most stable and high-yield environment for its users. It does this primarily by using its stablecoin, USDe, in tandem with its native token, ENA. This cohesive design opens the door for novel staking strategies and opportunities.

Ethena’s fee structure includes slippage and execution fees for minting and redeeming USDe. Users only pay these fees when users make a conversion from ETH to USDe or USDe back to ETH. The fees vary based on prevailing market conditions and volumes traded. These fees are meant to offset the risks their company incurs by keeping USDe stable and providing a seamless user experience.

Ethena provides an attractive estimated APY of 9% USDe staking. These yield aggregators tend to bring in lots of users with their really high APYs. This gives them an incentive to stake their USDe and participate more meaningfully in the ecosystem. Ethena does something unique in the DeFi staking world. Its mixture of ETH, USDe, and ENA backing, and a relatively high APY, makes it a great platform.

Rocket Pool

Rocket Pool is a decentralized ETH staking network that is very pro-ETH. What sets the platform apart is its commitment to decentralization and community governance. It is intended to provide a beneficial, trustless, and accessible staking experience. Additionally, Rocket Pool aims to create a more distributed and resilient network, enabling any user to participate in the operation of nodes. It does this with much lower ETH requirements than others.

In addition to the technical barriers, Rocket Pool has a much higher fee—14%—that rETH stakers pay. The 25 bps fee would only apply to the staking rewards that rETH holders earn. This creates an inherent demand for it, as it both compensates node operators and sustains the network’s infrastructure. The fee is designed to align the financial incentives of stakers with those of node operators, unlocking sustainability for the platform.

Liquidity staking APY is currently 2.79% while node staking APY is 4.39%. As you can see, the APYs differ according to the amount of participation and risk involved across each staking method. Liquid staking provides seamless integration and immediate liquidity with rETH. On the other hand, node staking requires greater technical expertise and a bigger ETH investment, but it offers significantly better returns.

Jito

While Jito is primarily focused on SOL staking, offering more specialized services in the Solana ecosystem, the platform’s purpose is to generate maximum staking rewards using cutting edge strategies and technologies. Jito’s innovative solution to maximize returns for SOL stakers. In doing so, it helps maintain the health and efficiency of the wider Solana network.

Jito imposes an annual management fee of 4% of total rewards plus a 0.1% withdrawal fee. The 5% management fee goes towards the staking rewards that users earn. It’s what pays to keep the trains running on their platform and implement these ambitious optimization strategies. Users will pay a withdrawal fee at the time they unstake their SOL. The goal of this fee is to discourage constant repeating/sabotaging unstaking actions that disrupt the staking process.

For example, Jito provides an average APY of 7.26% for SOL staking. Earning APY Jito typically delivers prospectively the highest APY in the marketplace. Its unique concentration on the Solana ecosystem makes it a popular option for SOL holders wanting to receive staking rewards. What makes the platform incredibly attractive is that it actively works to optimize staking strategies. Its transparent fee structure further enhances its growth potential.

Babylon

Babylon supports BTC staking, creating a new potential opportunity for Bitcoin holders to earn rewards via staking. The platform’s long-term vision is to close the gap between Bitcoin’s high security and the yield-generating opportunities that exist in the DeFi ecosystem. By making BTC staking possible, Babylon aims to open up new use cases for Bitcoin and expand its overall utility.

Babylon imposes a transaction fee of 0.00032 BTC for unbonding. When users unstake their BTC, this is the fee that they pay. This allows us to partially cover the costs of processing the unbonding transaction. While the fee is miniscule compared to the value of BTC, it does act as a deterrent to unstaking on a regular basis.

Babylon’s launch of BTC staking is a major step for the DeFi ecosystem. By allowing Bitcoin holders to earn rewards without having to sell or trade their BTC, Babylon provides a valuable service that could attract a large user base. The platform’s unique and creative development approach could be what it takes to unlock entirely new value for Bitcoin. This places it at the core of the growing DeFi market.