Lido (LDO): how it works, supply and reviews
In short
- Type
- Liquid staking protocol built from smart contracts on Ethereum, not a separate blockchain
- Initial distribution
- 1 billion LDO minted at the launch of the Lido DAO
- Risks and caveats
- Slashing of node operators can reduce staked assets, and in severe cases exceed rewards
- Checked
- 31 October 2026
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Key facts
- Ticker
- LDO
- Official site
- lido.fi
Key facts checked on 31 October 2026 against official sources.
What is Lido
Lido is a liquid staking protocol on Ethereum: users deposit ETH and receive stETH, which tracks their staked ether plus rewards and stays transferable. The protocol is governed by the Lido DAO through the LDO token.
Network and consensus
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Liquid staking protocol built from smart contracts on Ethereum, not a separate blockchain |
| Runs on | Ethereum; stETH is the main token and wstETH its non-rebasing wrapper |
| Validators | Deposited ETH is delegated to independent node operators running Ethereum validators |
| Withdrawals | Since Lido V2 (May 2023) stETH can be burned to exit at 1:1 through a withdrawal queue |
| Staking vaults | Lido V3 added stVaults: vaults that can mint the same canonical stETH |
Supply and issuance
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Initial distribution | 1 billion LDO minted at the launch of the Lido DAO |
| Allocation | DAO treasury 36.32%, investors 22.18%, initial developers 20%, founders and future employees 15%, validators and signature holders 6.5% |
| Issuance | No fixed emission schedule for treasury LDO (2021 statement) |
| stETH model | stETH balance rebases with rewards; wstETH balance is fixed and grows in value against stETH |
| Protocol fee | 10% of staking rewards, split between node operators and the DAO Treasury; changeable by DAO vote |
What LDO is used for
- LDO: voting in the Lido DAO on fees, node operators, oracles and upgrades
- stETH: represents staked ETH plus rewards and can be used in DeFi
- wstETH: wrapped, non-rebasing form of stETH for integrations
- stETH holders can delay contentious DAO decisions through Dual Governance
Who develops and governs Lido
- Governance
- Lido DAO; voting weight proportional to LDO held
- Software
- The DAO is an Aragon organisation; Easy Track handles routine motions
- Dual Governance
- Live since 4 July 2025: stETH holders can delay and exit before contentious proposals take effect
- Vote timing
- DAO on-chain votes take 9 days from start to execution; shortened votes 5 days, Easy Track 3 days
- Open source
- Code is published in the lidofinance GitHub organisation
History
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 15 October 2020 | Lido was introduced as a liquid staking solution for Ethereum's move to proof of stake |
| December 2020 | Lido DAO launched with 1 billion LDO minted; founding members' tokens locked for one year |
| 15 May 2023 | Lido V2 went live with ETH withdrawals |
| 16 October 2023 | Lido on Solana stopped accepting new stake after a DAO vote to sunset it |
| 16 December 2024 | Sunset of Lido on Polygon announced after an LDO holder vote |
| 4 July 2025 | Dual Governance went live on Ethereum mainnet |
| 30 January 2026 | Lido V3 with stVaults went live on Ethereum mainnet |
Security and audits
- Bug bounty on Immunefi since May 2021 with rewards up to $2,000,000; 43 reports rewarded as of 19 August 2026
- Protocol contracts are audited; audit reports are listed in the Lido docs
Security incidents
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 10 May 2025 | Key compromise: A Lido Oracle address operated by Chorus One appears to have been compromised and its ETH balance drained; Lido contributors started an emergency DAO vote to rotate the key in the oracle HashConsensus contracts. Lido says stakers were not affected and the protocol remained secure, with a 5/9 oracle quorum. Funds returned: not stated | research.lido.fi |
Official LDO contracts
| Network | Contract address |
|---|---|
| Ethereum | 0xae7ab96520DE3A18E5e111B5EaAb095312D7fE84 |
| Ethereum | 0x7f39C581F595B53c5cb19bD0b3f8dA6c935E2Ca0 |
| Ethereum | 0x5A98FcBEA516Cf06857215779Fd812CA3beF1B32 |
stETH (proxy), wstETH and LDO token addresses on Ethereum, as listed in the Lido deployed-contracts page.
Risks and caveats
- Slashing of node operators can reduce staked assets, and in severe cases exceed rewards
- Smart contracts may contain bugs, and DAO votes can change protocol behaviour
- stETH can trade at a discount to ETH on secondary markets during stress, and withdrawals wait in a queue
- Lido wound down its Solana and Polygon deployments; it now focuses on Ethereum
Official links
- Website: lido.fi
- Docs: docs.lido.fi
- Source code: github.com/lidofinance
- Blog: blog.lido.fi
- Governance forum: research.lido.fi
Questions and answers
What is Lido?
A liquid staking protocol on Ethereum: users stake ETH and receive stETH, which stays transferable while earning staking rewards.
What is the LDO token?
LDO is the governance token of the Lido DAO; 1 billion LDO were minted at the DAO's launch in December 2020.
What fee does Lido charge?
Lido takes 10% of staking rewards, split between node operators and the DAO Treasury (docs, 31 October 2026).
Can stETH be redeemed for ETH?
Yes. Since Lido V2 in May 2023, stETH can be burned to exit at a 1:1 ratio through the protocol's withdrawal queue.
Is Lido safe?
Lido's own risk disclosure lists slashing, smart-contract, governance and secondary-market price risks; it runs a bug bounty of up to $2,000,000.
Sources
- Lido Docs - Introduction
- Lido Docs - Lido DAO
- Lido Docs - Tokens integration guide
- Lido Docs - Deployed contracts
- Lido Docs - Bug bounty
- Lido Docs - Public Risk Disclosure
- lidofinance/lido-dao README
- Lido Blog - Introducing LDO
- Lido Blog - Introducing Lido
- Lido Blog - V2 launch
- Lido Blog - V3 is live
- Lido Blog - Dual Governance overview
- Lido Blog - Solana sunset
- Lido Blog - Polygon sunset
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