The liquid restaking protocol Ether.fi will allocate $3 billion in assets to the ETHGas project over three years, according to The Block.
Kevin Lepsoe, founder of ETHGas, clarified that this is not a direct investment. Ether.fi will use part of its pool (currently exceeding 2.8 million ETH) as “validator liquidity.”
ETHGas operates as a marketplace for futures on Ethereum block space. The partnership is expected to provide liquidity to this market and benefit all network participants.
Ether.fi validators will increase their yield beyond standard staking rewards. They will be able to extract more additional profit (MEV) by supporting blocks in real-time.
Buyers of block space (traders and institutions) will be assured of transaction execution. The ability to pay for gas in advance will protect them from sudden fee spikes during network congestion.
Developers will be able to create applications with fixed costs. As a result, transaction fees will become “as predictable as electricity bills.”
Lepsoe compared Ethereum block space to traditional commodity assets. He noted that any major commodity market inevitably evolves from a spot format to futures.
Back in January, ETHGas launched the governance token GWEI. The goal is to transform Ethereum block space into a programmable and tradable asset.