Lido
Lido Finance is a liquid staking protocol for ether, the cryptocurrency of Ethereum. Staking commits ether to validators that check transactions and help secure the network, in exchange for potential rewards. The protocol pools deposits for staking and gives each depositor a transferable token representing their share of the staked ether and its rewards.
Lido gives participants stETH tokens that represent a share of the ether staked through the protocol and the associated rewards. Those tokens can be transferred or used in compatible blockchain applications while the underlying ether remains staked. This gives holders a way to participate in staking without running their own validator, although protocol and market risks remain.
How stETH works
A holder deposits ether with Lido and receives stETH one for one. Lido passes the ether to professional node operators who run the validators, and the staking rewards show up as a growing stETH balance. The wrapped version, wstETH, keeps the number of tokens fixed and rises in value instead, which suits DeFi protocols and custodians; SG-FORGE accepts wstETH as collateral in its Morpho vaults. The crypto staking page explains proof of stake and the difference between solo and liquid staking.
lido.fi reports more than 9 million staked ether, more than 3 billion dollars of rewards paid since 2020 and more than 100 integrations. stETH can be sold on secondary markets at any time, but its price can move away from the price of ether when many holders sell at once. Withdrawals through Lido itself follow the exit queue of Ethereum and can take days.
Lido for institutions: custody, stVaults and Dual Governance
Lido presents institutional staking as "stETH liquidity and utility for enterprises". Through the custody integrations a client can hold stETH in the same account as other crypto-assets. Lido V3 adds stVaults for "tailored staking setups with validators of choice". The Block reported on 30 January 2026 that stVaults were rolling out on mainnet as "non-custodial smart contracts that enable institutions, protocols, rollups, and other users" to build their own setups. P2P.org, Chorus One, Pier Two and Sentora were among the node operators, and Twinstake, Northstake and Everstake among the institutional stakers.
Lido is governed by the Lido DAO through the LDO token. Dual Governance, which Lido lists as a "stETH dynamic timelock", lets stETH holders delay DAO decisions they object to and leave before a change takes effect. For a fund that holds stETH, due diligence covers who can change the contracts and how much notice holders get. The institutional staking page covers custody and liability, and staking in crypto ETPs the fund products.
Upcoming digital asset events in Germany
Lido at Finance Loop
Crypto Finance (Deutschland), a Deutsche Börse Group company, launched a staking service for Ethereum and Solana in Frankfurt in 2025, which Finance Loop covered on its crypto in Frankfurt page. Finance Loop events on digital assets put key control, slashing liability and fund law on one agenda, the questions a fund answers before it holds staked ether.
Investment & Digital Assets
Risk & Compliance
What is Lido Finance?
Lido Finance is a liquid staking protocol on Ethereum; Lido Finance stakes deposited ether through node operators and issues stETH, which carries the staking rewards and can be traded or used as collateral.
What is stETH?
stETH is the token from Lido for staked ether; one stETH is issued for each ether deposited, and the balance grows as staking rewards come in.
What is the difference between stETH and wstETH?
stETH pays rewards by increasing the token balance; wstETH wraps stETH so that the number of tokens stays fixed and each token rises in value, which many DeFi protocols and custodians handle more easily.
Can stETH trade below ether?
stETH is redeemed through the exit queue of Ethereum, so on secondary markets its price can fall below the price of ether when many holders sell at once.
Lido Finance and Finance Loop
Finance Loop covers Lido in its Investment & Digital Assets track, where staked ether goes into custody accounts and fund products. Custodians and fund operators meet staking providers at Finance Loop events in Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin and Hamburg.
Finance Loop is a professional network supporting the institutional use of emerging technologies in finance, such as AI, digital payments, cloud and blockchain solutions. Finance Loop helps its members build skills and personal networks in these fields: Investment & Digital Assets, Payments & Digital Money, Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty, and Risk & Compliance.