What is Lido DAO (LDO)
Lido DAO is a decentralised finance (DeFi) service best known for Ethereum liquid staking, of which it is the leading protocol. It allows ETH to be staked in any amount, overcoming two limits of direct staking on Ethereum: the 32 ETH minimum threshold and the locking of funds.
Those who deposit ETH on Lido receive stETH in return, a token that represents the staked ETH and its rewards, and which can be used freely in other DeFi applications. Staking rewards are variable, dependent on the protocol and not guaranteed.
How it works
Lido emerged during Ethereum’s transition to Proof of Stake: with the launch of the Beacon Chain (December 2020) it became possible to stake ETH, but with constraints that Lido bypassed by distributing staking across a set of selected node operators. The Lido V2 version, in 2023, introduced withdrawals and greater decentralisation.
The liquid staking model has been very successful, to the point of making Lido one of the protocols with the highest total value locked in the entire sector — an element that also entails a debate about the degree of concentration of Ethereum staking.
The LDO token and how it began
LDO is the governance token of the DAO that manages the protocol: it allows voting on development decisions. It has a capped supply of 1 billion units, and does not in itself represent staked ETH (that is represented by stETH).
The project was started by a group of founders linked to P2P Validator and has received backing from major investment funds such as Paradigm and a16z.
Price trends and what to consider
Like all crypto-assets, LDO has shown a highly volatile price trend. Its quotations can be influenced by the general trend of the crypto market, by the amount of ETH staked through Lido and by governance decisions.
Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
Lido DAO Market Data
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