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EtherFi to Tap Plume’s Nest Vaults for Real-World Asset Yield

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EtherFi to Tap Plume's Nest Vaults for Real-World Asset Yield

The DeFi neobank will route customer deposits into a basis-trade vault powered by Superstate’s USCC fund.

EtherFi, the crypto neobank and Ethereum restaking protocol with nearly $6 billion in total value locked (TVL), is integrating Plume Network’s Nest Vault infrastructure to give its users access to tokenized real-world asset (RWA) yield.

The integration centers on Plume’s nBASIS vault, powered by Superstate’s USCC fund, which generates returns from basis spreads, the price differential between spot and futures markets, across multiple cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, and XRP.

The rollout will proceed in two phases. EtherFi will first re-allocate capital to the nBASIS vault, with a direct integration into EtherFi’s user interface to follow.

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“We’re building a neobank where every yield source, whether onchain or offchain, lives under one roof. This partnership with Plume and Superstate is a major step toward making that real,” said an Etherfi spokesperson.

“DeFi yields are increasingly compressed in today’s market,” said Plume co-founder Teddy Pornprinya, adding that retail users onboarded through neobanks like EtherFi are seeking more sustainable and diversified return sources beyond native DeFi strategies.

Plume’s Nest Vault framework handles compliance, risk parameters, and onchain reporting, reducing operational overhead.

From Restaking to Neobank

EtherFi began as a liquid restaking protocol on Ethereum, allowing users to stake ETH while retaining liquidity through its eETH token. The protocol launched a credit card product in mid-2024, positioning its Cash card as part of a broader product suite designed to let users save, invest, and spend crypto without off-ramping.

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CEO Mike Silagadze has described the end goal as a full financial stack: salary deposits, savings, earning yield, and everyday spending, all within EtherFi. The project branded the concept a “defibank” blending traditional banking UI with DeFi-native yields and non-custodial infrastructure.

EtherFi migrated its Cash accounts and card program from Scroll to Optimism’s OP Mainnet in February 2026, bringing over 70,000 active cards and roughly 300,000 user accounts to the Superchain as part of an enterprise partnership with OP Labs.

The Plume integration now adds an RWA yield layer, extending the platform’s offerings beyond native DeFi strategies.

This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.

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Crypto World

Forward Industries Funds Share Buyback With Solana-Backed Loan

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Stocks, Loans, Solana

Forward Industries, a publicly traded company with a Solana-focused treasury strategy, has launched a share repurchase program funded through a crypto-backed loan from Galaxy Digital LLC, underscoring how digital assets are increasingly being used in traditional corporate finance.

The company said Thursday it will repurchase 6,164,324 shares of its common stock from an unnamed institutional investor for approximately $27.4 million, reducing total shares outstanding to 76,977,809.

Cointelegraph’s email to Forward seeking further information on the identity of the selling institutional investor was not answered prior to publication.

Stocks, Loans, Solana
A partial list of Forward Industries’ institutional investors. Source: Fintel.io

Public filings indicate that only six institutional investors in Forward Industries hold enough shares to sell that volume back to the company. According to filings data compiled by Fintel.io, one of those holders is Galaxy Digital LP (8.68 million shares, as of Sept. 18, 2025) and another is Galaxy Group Investments LLC (8.11 million shares, as of Feb. 18, 2026.)

To fund the buyback, Forward secured a $40 million loan from Galaxy Digital LLC at an interest rate of 3.4%. The loan is collateralized by the company’s Solana (SOL) holdings, which total 7,013,536 SOL — valued at approximately $613 million at current market prices.

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The structure allows Forward to access liquidity without liquidating its crypto reserves, while continuing to generate yield through staking. The move reflects a broader trend of companies leveraging digital asset treasuries to optimize capital structure and potentially enhance shareholder returns.

The share repurchase appears to be part of Forward Industries’ November authorization to buy back up to $1 billion of its stock on an ongoing basis. At the time, the company said the program would provide financial flexibility amid heightened volatility in the crypto market.

That volatility has intensified in recent months, with Solana’s price falling below $90. The buyback may also help support Forward Industries’ stock, which is down 87% from its September peak.

Forward Industries (FWDI) stock. Source: Yahoo Finance

Related: Crypto’s 2026 investment playbook: Bitcoin, stablecoin infrastructure, tokenized assets

Crypto treasury strategies face pressure

Forward Industries began aggressively accumulating Solana last year, when crypto treasury strategies gained traction during the bull market. The company has since built the largest publicly traded SOL treasury, with at least 18 other public companies adopting similar strategies, according to industry data.

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By February, these companies collectively held more than $1.5 billion in unrealized losses tied to the broader crypto market downturn. A significant portion of those losses is attributed to Forward Industries, which is down roughly $972 million.

Forward Industries ranks as the largest public holder of Solana. Source: CoinGecko

The sector’s volatility is likely to result in broad consolidation among crypto treasury companies, Wojciech Kaszycki of crypto infrastructure company BTCS told Cointelegraph.

Many treasury companies are under pressure as declining crypto prices push their valuations below the value of the digital assets they hold, while limited cash flow makes it harder to sustain operations.

Related: Crypto Biz: A Bitcoin treasury shareholder revolt