DeFi is moving toward a simple default: your ETH should almost never sit still. We’ve added pufETH as collateral so pufETH holders are able to keep their ETH staked and restaked with Puffer, while using those same assets to margin options and perps.
Restaked ETH as Derivatives Collateral
From Derive’s perspective, pufETH sits exactly where we think DeFi collateral should be:
- It’s ETH at the base; a blue-chip asset with deep, onchain liquidity.
- It’s restaked; earning additional rewards rather than sitting idle.
- It’s liquid and DeFi-native; explicitly designed to plug into other protocols as collateral.
pufETH will sit alongside other collateral assets in a portfolio margin framework, with conservative haircuts and clear liquidations enforced by smart contracts.
Volatility Harvesting on Restaked ETH
The real unlock for professional users is the ability to harvest volatility on top of restaking yield. On Derive, that will be used to run institutional-grade strategies such as:
- Covered calls on ETH
- Basis trades using perpetual futures
- Low-delta call spreads for more defined-risk yield
- Cash-secured puts for desks willing to accumulate more ETH on dips
This is particularly relevant given the kind of capital that’s starting to flow into Puffer. Treasury-scale players like ETHZilla have already signalled plans to deploy roughly $47M of ETH into Puffer’s native liquid restaking.
For these treasuries, DATs, and structured-product desks, pufETH on Derive is a natural next step; use Derive to express delta-neutral or low-volatility strategies.
Where DeFi Is Headed
More yield layers are only useful if the downside is transparent and controlled.
On the Puffer side, the design focuses on security-first restaking; validator bonds, anti-slashing mechanisms, and a permission-less architecture making restaked ETH safer for institutions.
On Derive our onchain risk engine applies conservative haircuts and uses portfolio margin to account for the entire book with no opaque “back office” decisions.
In that world, ETH restakes into AVSs, and helps you hedge, take views, or earn additional carry; all within a transparent, onchain risk framework.
