Lido
Staking · Liquid Staking · stETH
Lido lets users stake ETH and receive stETH, a rebasing liquid staking token that accrues daily staking rewards while staying usable across DeFi.
The largest Ethereum liquid staking protocol.
Total staked
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Research
Components, facts, FAQ, timeline, and tokenomics in one place
Main components (6)
stETH (Lido Staked Ether)
A rebasing ERC-20 liquid staking token minted 1:1 when ETH is deposited. Balances rebase daily to reflect accrued staking rewards net of the protocol fee, so 1 stETH tracks 1 staked ETH plus rewards.
wstETH (Wrapped stETH)
A non-rebasing wrapper of stETH whose balance stays constant while its exchange rate to stETH grows. Preferred for DeFi integrations (lending, LPs, L2s) that do not handle rebasing tokens well.
Staking Router
Introduced in Lido V2, a modular contract that routes stake to distinct node-operator modules (Curated, Simple DVT, and Community Staking), letting the DAO add operator sets with different trust and decentralization profiles.
Withdrawal Queue
The Lido V2 mechanism allowing stETH holders to redeem stETH for ETH at a 1:1 ratio via a queue that mints a withdrawal NFT, fulfilled from staking rewards, buffered deposits, and validator exits.
Simple DVT Module
Lido's second mainnet operator module, using distributed validator technology (Obol and SSV) to let clusters of solo and community stakers collectively run validators, broadening operator decentralization.
Dual Governance
A protection layer (live June 2025) that lets stETH/wstETH holders escrow tokens to delay (>1% TVL) or, at a 10% threshold, trigger a 'rage quit' that halts execution of DAO proposals they object to.
Differentiator
Deepest liquidity and broadest DeFi integration of any LST; staking is delegated across a DAO-curated set of professional node operators.
Organizational structure
Units & roles
- Governing body
Lido DAO
The decentralized organization of LDO holders that governs the protocol via Aragon on-chain votes and Snapshot signaling, controlling upgrades, operator onboarding, fee parameters, and the treasury.
- DAO-adjacent foundation / contributor entity
Lido Labs BORG Foundation
A Lido-DAO-adjacent foundation established to coordinate core contributors and operational work supporting the protocol, formed following a Lido DAO Snapshot vote.
Investment rounds
| Date | Round | Amount | Investors | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-12-01 | Seed | $2M | Semantic VenturesParaFi CapitalTerraKR1StakefishStaking FacilitiesRune ChristensenStani KulechovKain Warwick | Source |
| 2021-05-01 | Strategic (LDO token sale) | $73M | ParadigmCoinbase VenturesThree Arrows CapitalJump TradingAlameda ResearchDigital Currency Group | Source |
| 2022-03-01 | Strategic (a16z LDO purchase) | $70M | Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) | Source |
Similarity to traditional finance products
How Lido maps onto established TradFi structures, and where it diverges.
| TradFi product | Similarity to Lido | Key differences |
|---|---|---|
| Money market fund / liquid deposit receipt | Like a money-market fund share, stETH is a liquid, transferable claim that accrues yield continuously while the underlying capital is put to productive use (staking rewards vs. short-term instruments). | There is no fund manager, custodian bank, or redemption gate operator; yield comes from Ethereum protocol issuance rather than interest-bearing securities, and both the token and its yield are fully on-chain and non-custodial. |