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About Lido
Lido is the largest liquid staking protocol in DeFi, enabling users to stake their ETH and receive stETH (staked ETH) in return - a liquid token that represents their staked position and accrues staking rewards automatically. Launched in December 2020 just before the Ethereum Beacon Chain went live, Lido solved a critical problem: allowing users to earn staking rewards without locking up their ETH.
When you stake ETH through Lido, you receive stETH at a 1:1 ratio. This stETH balance increases daily as staking rewards accrue, and can be freely traded, used as collateral in lending protocols, or provided as liquidity in DeFi. This 'liquid' nature means stakers don't have to choose between earning staking yield and participating in DeFi.
Lido has become foundational DeFi infrastructure, with over $20 billion in staked ETH and stETH integrated across hundreds of protocols. The protocol is governed by LDO token holders through the Lido DAO, which oversees node operator selection, fee structures, and protocol upgrades.
Key Features
Liquid Staking
Stake ETH and receive stETH, a liquid token that accrues staking rewards automatically
No Minimum Stake
Stake any amount of ETH - no need for the 32 ETH required for solo staking
DeFi Composability
Use stETH across DeFi - as collateral, in liquidity pools, or for yield strategies
Daily Rewards
stETH balance increases daily to reflect earned staking rewards
Withdrawals
Request withdrawals to convert stETH back to ETH through the protocol
wstETH
Wrapped stETH with a constant balance - rewards accrue through value appreciation
Use Cases
Earn Staking Rewards
Earn Ethereum staking yield (~3-4% APY) while maintaining liquidity
DeFi Collateral
Use stETH as collateral on Aave, MakerDAO, and other lending protocols
Liquidity Provision
Provide stETH-ETH liquidity on Curve and earn additional trading fees
Leveraged Staking
Borrow against stETH to buy more ETH and amplify staking returns
Portfolio Diversification
Hold stETH as a yield-bearing ETH alternative in your portfolio
Project Info
Frequently Asked Questions
Lido is a liquid staking protocol that lets you stake ETH and receive stETH in return. When you stake through Lido, your ETH is delegated to professional node operators who run validators. You receive stETH representing your stake, which automatically increases in balance as rewards accrue. This means you can use stETH in DeFi while still earning staking rewards.
Lido is the largest and most battle-tested liquid staking protocol with multiple security audits. However, risks include smart contract vulnerabilities, slashing penalties if node operators misbehave, and stETH potentially trading at a discount to ETH during market stress. Lido uses a diverse set of node operators to reduce centralization risk.
stETH is a rebasing token - your balance increases daily as rewards accrue. wstETH (wrapped stETH) has a constant balance, with rewards reflected in its increasing value relative to stETH. wstETH is better for DeFi integrations that don't support rebasing tokens and for tax reporting purposes.
Lido charges a 10% fee on staking rewards, split between node operators and the Lido DAO treasury. This fee is automatically deducted - you simply receive your net staking rewards reflected in your stETH balance. There are no fees for staking or unstaking.
You can request withdrawals through Lido's withdrawal queue, which processes requests as validator exits complete (typically 1-5 days). Alternatively, you can swap stETH for ETH on DEXs like Curve for immediate liquidity, though you may receive slightly less than 1:1 depending on market conditions.