Ether.fi, the popular Ethereum liquid restaking protocol, has partnered with on-chain vault manager Plume to launch a yield-bearing real-world asset (RWA) vault, backed by an exclusive $100 million allocation from ether.fi. The capital draws from ether.fi’s liquidity provider base—including funds, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals—as well as managed funds from its liquid ETH, liquid USD, and liquid BTC vaults, which collectively hold around $300 million in total value locked.
The new vault, accessible directly inside the ether.fi app, gives users exposure to tokenized RWA yield with institutional-grade risk profiles and reduced DeFi complexity. Charles Mountain, ether.fi’s head of ecosystem, said the integration of Plume Nest Vaults “means our users can now access institutional-grade real-world asset yield … directly within the app they already are familiar with.” He noted strong demand for earn products that offer such risk controls after periods of DeFi volatility and exploit risks.
Chris Yin, co‑founder and CEO of Plume, described a months‑long process of studying ether.fi’s needs, then sourcing assets, performing due diligence, and constructing vaults tailored to the platform. The vault bundles multiple institutional strategies into a single product, including overcollateralized credit pools, AAA‑rated collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), and total bond market ETFs. Sourced from asset managers that collectively oversee more than $10 trillion, these assets aim to provide stable, structured income. Plume’s vaults are non‑custodial and built with compliance controls, supported by its Bermuda Monetary Authority license and SEC transfer agent approval through Kimber Transfer Agency.
The launch comes as major financial institutions—Apollo, WisdomTree, Hamilton Lane, BlackRock—continue expanding tokenization of traditional assets, making vault products a popular wrapper for on‑chain yield. For ether.fi, one of the largest crypto card providers and a major restaking platform, the partnership deepens its product suite and could strengthen its ecosystem by tapping into the rapidly growing RWA sector.
