Lido - Liquid Staking for ETH and Beyond

Stake your ETH and receive stETH while keeping liquidity. Learn how Lido works, its pros and risks in our full 2025 review.

Visit Lido

What Is Lido?

Lido is the leading liquid staking protocol, initially built for Ethereum. It allows you to stake ETH and receive stETH, a tokenized representation of your staked assets that can be used across DeFi protocols. Instead of locking your funds, you stay liquid - ideal for users seeking yield and flexibility in one place.

Key Features of Lido

  • Liquid staking: Receive stETH for every staked ETH, usable across DeFi apps.
  • Daily rewards: Staking rewards are reflected in your stETH balance automatically.
  • Multichain support: Supports ETH, MATIC, DOT, and SOL (varying by availability).
  • Decentralized validator set: ETH is staked across multiple node operators for security and performance.
  • Integrated with DeFi: Use stETH on Aave, Curve, 1inch, and other platforms.

How to Start with Lido

  • Visit lido.fi and connect your wallet (e.g., MetaMask).
  • Select ETH and the amount you want to stake.
  • Confirm the transaction - you’ll receive stETH in return.
  • Use stETH in DeFi platforms or simply hold and earn.

Pros & Cons of Lido

  • Pros: Stay liquid while staking, earn daily rewards, use across DeFi, decentralized validators.
  • Cons: Exposure to smart contract risk, stETH depegging risk, not suitable for complete crypto beginners.

Final Thoughts

Lido is an essential tool for anyone serious about earning on their ETH while maintaining liquidity. It’s trusted, integrated, and widely adopted. Just be aware of the risks - especially smart contract and market-based risks.

If you're looking for more CeFi-style staking, see our CeFi vs DeFi Yield Comparison.