The current financial news cycle tends to be heavily centered on Bitcoin coverage. Every now and then we get to learn about new developments such as decentralized finance technology and non-fungible tokens, but it does not take long for news outlets to return to their Bitcoin reporting. Major tokens such as Ethereum tend to be overlooked; if we didn't have DeFi side chain projects augmenting the Ethereum blockchain network, there is a good chance that we would hardly learn of new updates.

The reality of Ethereum is that its network of ERC20 tokens is still the busiest and most active in the world. The future of cryptocurrency business clearly depends on the development of the ETH network, and this is something we can all count on thanks to DeFi layers and staking projects.

Even though you can certainly make money from Ethereum trading these days, holding these tokens may be a smarter investment for the time being, particularly if you decide to stake them. Ethereum staking is a way of ensuring that the network can always count on having sufficient liquidity. DeFi projects such as the Lido protocol allow you to hold ETH at the same time you earn interest, thus rewarding you for not being an active trader.

In order to be sure that your investment doesn't go up and down too much, you can use Ethereum ladders to hedge against cryptocurrency volatility. DeFi projects, such as Lydian Chain and ChainLink, allow you to exchange your Ether directly for a stable token. In the same manner, you can convert ERC20 tokens into Dai for stability on the Maker protocol. However, this is typically only possible with Lydian, which is an exchange offering Ether pegged tokens. The benefits of this form of digital dollar are fairly obvious. When the price of your ETH falls, you can get your Ether back in a much stronger position, thus allowing you to cash in on an ETH bull run.

Instead of letting your Ethereum tokens sit in your cryptocurrency wallet, you should strongly consider putting them to work in liquidity pools by staking them. This is definitely a smarter way to invest this year.