Liquid Staking

Lido

Ethereum Data as of March 2026

Lido is the largest liquid staking protocol, allowing users to stake ETH and receive stETH, a liquid token representing their staked position plus accrued rewards. Lido takes 10% of staking rewards (not principal), split between node operators and the DAO treasury.

Fee per Transaction

10.00%

10% of staking rewards (not of principal)

Round Trip Cost

N/A

Buy + Sell on $1,000

TVL

~$15B

Largest liquid staking protocol

How It Works

Users deposit ETH and receive stETH at a 1:1 ratio. As staking rewards accrue, the stETH balance increases daily (rebasing). The effective APR for stakers is the Ethereum consensus yield minus Lido's 10% cut.

stETH is widely integrated across DeFi: it can be used as collateral on Aave, traded on Curve, or used in yield strategies. This composability is Lido's core value proposition.

Lido operates through a curated set of professional node operators, distributing stake to reduce centralization risk.

Strengths

+Liquid staking. Earn staking rewards while keeping your ETH liquid and usable across DeFi.

+Deepest integration. stETH is accepted as collateral on virtually every major lending and yield protocol.

+No lock-up. Unlike native ETH staking, stETH can be sold or redeemed at any time.

Risks

xCentralization concern. Lido controls over 28% of all staked ETH, raising concerns about Ethereum consensus centralization.

!Smart contract risk. A vulnerability in Lido could affect the peg and all protocols that accept stETH as collateral.

!stETH depeg risk. In extreme market conditions, stETH can trade below ETH value temporarily, as seen in June 2022.

Open Lido ↗ Compare Fees ↗

Disclosure: This profile is provided for informational purposes only. White & TT does not hold a position in LDO. Fee data reflects publicly documented parameters as of March 2026. Always verify current fees on the protocol. This is not financial advice.

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