Puffer Stake Review 2026: Liquid Restaking on Ethereum

Puffer Stake is the liquid restaking arm of Puffer Finance, a protocol on Ethereum. Users stake ETH and receive pufETH, which earns Ethereum staking rewards plus EigenLayer and Puffer restaking rewards. DefiLlama lists it under Liquid Restaking since February 2024, with about $23.9 million in TVL.

Puffer has grown into a wider Ethereum infrastructure project. Its homepage lists UniFi, a based rollup, Puffer Preconf for fast confirmations, and Puffer Institutional. It also announces partnerships with Anchorage Digital for custody and Google Cloud for infrastructure, and a seed round of $5.5M is mentioned.

The homepage currently carries a notice that a new UniFi Vault is being prepared and that holders in the existing vault should withdraw. That points to ongoing change, so readers should check current product status. DefiLlama lists no audits, even though the homepage has an audited-by section, so verify audit reports in the docs.

Puffer takes ETH from users and stakes it on Ethereum, then gives back pufETH as a receipt. The ETH earns normal proof-of-stake rewards. Because it is also restaked through EigenLayer, it can earn extra rewards for securing additional services.

Restaking means validators accept extra duties in return for extra rewards, and also extra risk, including penalties if they misbehave. Puffer says its design uses tools such as time locks, validator bond modules and hardware-secured guardians, with the claim that several layers must fail before user funds move. These are the project's own statements and we have not verified them.

Beyond staking, Puffer builds UniFi, a based rollup, and Puffer Preconf, which gives fast transaction confirmations backed by Ethereum staking security. The liquid restaking product is the base for these other parts.

Fee levels are not stated publicly. The homepage shows APY and total ETH staked as live figures that did not load in the text we have, so current yield and any protocol fee are not confirmed here.

Before staking, check the app and docs for the current APY, any protocol or performance fee, withdrawal options and Ethereum gas costs, which apply to every on-chain transaction.

DefiLlama lists zero audits for Puffer Stake. The homepage has an audited-by section and security partners, but the names are not in the text we have, so readers should confirm audit reports in the official docs. Puffer says security is its core focus and describes layered defenses, but these are the project's own claims.

Restaking carries smart-contract, operator and slashing risk on top of ordinary staking, and pufETH can trade away from the value of the underlying ETH. The homepage asks holders in the existing UniFi Vault to withdraw, so follow the official guidance. No hack or shutdown appears. Beware of fake claim pages and phishing around the PUFFER airdrop.

Puffer Stake is for ETH holders who already understand liquid staking and are comfortable taking on restaking risk for additional rewards. It also suits users following Ethereum infrastructure and based rollups. Beginners who want the simplest staking option may prefer plain liquid staking.