What is ankrETH (ANKRETH)?

Quick Facts

  • Issuer: Ankr Protocol, a leading Web3 infrastructure company
  • Type: Reward-bearing liquid staking token (LST)
  • Underlying asset: Ethereum (ETH)
  • Reward mechanism: Value appreciation vs. ETH, not rebase
  • No minimum stake required (direct ETH staking requires 32 ETH)
  • Multichain: Available on Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, and Fantom
  • EigenLayer integration: ankrETH is an accepted restaking collateral asset

Introduction

ankrETH (also known as ANKRETH or formerly aETHc) is Ankr Protocol's liquid staking token for Ethereum. When users stake ETH through Ankr Staking, they receive ankrETH in return — a token that retains liquidity while accumulating Ethereum staking rewards over time.

This design solves one of the core limitations of traditional ETH staking: the inability to access or use staked assets while they are locked on the Beacon Chain.

History & Background

Ankr Protocol launched its Ethereum liquid staking service to enable everyday users to participate in Ethereum's Proof-of-Stake consensus without the technical overhead of running a validator node or the capital barrier of 32 ETH. The token was originally known as aETHc before being rebranded to ankrETH to align with Ankr's broader liquid staking product family.

Ankr positions itself as a pioneer in the liquid staking space, later expanding ankrETH's utility through integration with EigenLayer's restaking infrastructure.

How ankrETH Works

Users deposit ETH into Ankr's staking smart contracts. In return, ankrETH tokens are automatically minted to the user's wallet. Ankr aggregates pooled ETH to spin up Ethereum validator nodes — each requiring 32 ETH — and delegates only to trusted, reputable validators.

ankrETH is a reward-bearing token: its quantity never changes after minting, but its value relative to ETH grows steadily as staking rewards accumulate. This is summarized by the formula: total share supply / (total stake amount + rewards).

Ankr charges a 10% technical service fee on staking rewards, with users also paying standard Ethereum gas fees for transactions.

Tokenomics

ankrETH is minted dynamically when ETH is staked and burned when users redeem their position. There is no fixed supply cap — the token supply expands and contracts in direct proportion to the amount of ETH staked in the protocol.

Rewards are embedded in the token's exchange rate rather than distributed as extra tokens. This makes ankrETH a clean, composable asset for DeFi integrations without rebase complexity.

Circulating supply ? 6,921 ANKRETH
Reserved supply ? 0 ANKRETH
Burned
0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000001
0 ANKRETH
Total supply ? 6,921 ANKRETH
Max supply ? -- ANKRETH
Updated 20h ago

Ecosystem & Use Cases

ankrETH can be used across a wide range of DeFi activities:

  • Liquidity provision on DEXs like Uniswap, earning trading fees on top of staking rewards
  • Yield farming by depositing into liquidity pools and receiving farming incentives
  • Restaking via EigenLayer, where ankrETH serves as collateral to secure additional middleware protocols and earn a second layer of yield
  • Cross-chain bridging via Ankr Bridge to access DeFi opportunities on BNB Smart Chain, Fantom, and other networks

Team, Governance & Community

ankrETH is built and maintained by Ankr, a Web3 infrastructure company with a global team. Governance over the broader Ankr ecosystem involves ANKR token holders, who participate in protocol decisions, helping keep the system decentralized and community-aligned.

Ankr's community is active across Telegram, Twitter, and developer documentation, and the protocol publishes regular updates via its Medium blog.

Advantages

  • No lock-up: Staked ETH remains liquid and usable in DeFi while earning rewards
  • No minimum stake: Anyone can participate, unlike solo staking which requires 32 ETH
  • Compounding potential: ankrETH can be deployed across multiple yield layers simultaneously
  • Multichain flexibility: Bridgeable to other chains via Ankr Bridge
  • EigenLayer restaking: Unlock a second layer of yield beyond standard staking rewards
  • No validator management: Ankr handles all technical complexity of running nodes

Risks & Challenges

  • Smart contract risk: Bugs or exploits in Ankr's staking contracts could impact staked funds
  • Validator slashing: If a validator misbehaves, users may miss out on rewards (though staked principal is not slashed)
  • Liquidity risk: The ankrETH/ETH exchange rate could deviate from fair value in secondary markets
  • Centralization concerns: Ankr controls validator selection, introducing a layer of trust
  • Competition: ankrETH competes with established LSTs like Lido's stETH and Rocket Pool's rETH

Long-Term Vision

Ankr's roadmap for ankrETH focuses on expanding its role across the DeFi and restaking ecosystems. Integration with EigenLayer represents a key step toward making ankrETH a foundational building block for Ethereum's decentralized trust network. Ankr also plans enhanced cross-chain liquidity, deeper DeFi protocol integrations, and continued improvements to its staking infrastructure — positioning ankrETH as a versatile, yield-generating asset for long-term ETH holders.

Frequently Asked Questions

ankrETH is Ankr Protocol's liquid staking token for Ethereum. When you stake ETH through Ankr, you receive ankrETH, which represents your staked position and accumulates staking rewards over time.

ankrETH is a reward-bearing token, meaning its quantity stays constant after minting but its value relative to ETH increases steadily as staking rewards accumulate. You earn rewards simply by holding the token.

No. Unlike solo Ethereum staking, which requires 32 ETH to run a validator, Ankr has no minimum staking requirement. Any amount of ETH can be staked to receive ankrETH.

Yes. ankrETH can be used in liquidity pools on DEXs, deposited into yield farming strategies, and restaked via EigenLayer. It can also be bridged to other blockchains like BNB Smart Chain for additional opportunities.

Ankr takes a 10% technical service fee from staking rewards. Users also pay standard Ethereum network gas fees for staking and unstaking transactions.

Unlike stETH, which uses a rebase model where token quantity grows over time, ankrETH uses a reward-bearing model where the token quantity stays fixed but its value relative to ETH increases. Ankr also differentiates through competitive fees and enterprise-grade infrastructure.

EigenLayer is a middleware protocol on Ethereum that allows liquid staking tokens like ankrETH to be 'restaked' as collateral to secure additional smart contracts. This unlocks a second layer of yield for ankrETH holders beyond standard Ethereum staking rewards.

Yes. ankrETH can be bridged to BNB Smart Chain and Fantom via Ankr Bridge, allowing holders to access DeFi opportunities across multiple networks.