Institutional staking is how funds, companies, and treasuries help secure proof‑of‑stake networks and earn protocol rewards. The Lido Protocol provides non‑custodial liquid staking for Ethereum, issuing stETH that reflects your staked position and accrued rewards with on‑chain transparency.

ETH is staked to validators that help secure the Ethereum network. With the Lido Protocol, deposits are pooled and distributed across a diversified validator set; you receive stETH, an ERC‑20 rebasing token representing your stake and rewards. Rewards accrue on‑chain and are reflected in your stETH balance.

Institutions typically require stricter governance and operational controls. Liquid staking via stETH can slot into existing wallet/custody workflows and treasury processes while providing on‑chain transparency and optional liquidity management. The Lido protocol maintains native integrations with leading institutional services providers including Fireblocks, Copper, and BitGo.

Operating validators in‑house requires capital, infrastructure and client management, monitoring, incident response, and ongoing maintenance. Liquid staking offloads validator operations to a distributed set while preserving liquidity via stETH.

The Lido protocol was launched in 2020 and since then, it has been running without major security incidents, while facilitating ~30% of all ETH staking.

However, there exist a number of potential risks when staking using the Lido protocol. Some of these risks include:

• Smart contract security
  There is an inherent risk that the Lido protocol could contain a smart contract vulnerability or bug. The Lido code is open-sourced, audited, and covered by an extensive Immunefi bug bounty program to minimise this risk. To mitigate smart contract risks, all of the core Lido contracts are audited. Audit reports can be found here.
• Slashing risk
  Validators risk staking penalties, with up to 100% of staked funds at risk if validators fail. To minimise this risk, the Lido protocol provides a staking platform across multiple professional and reputable node operators with heterogeneous setups, with additional mitigation in the form of self-coverage.
• stETH price risk
  Users risk an exchange price of stETH, which is lower than the inherent value due to withdrawal restrictions on the Lido protocol, making arbitrage and risk-free market-making impossible.

For further information and details about these and other potential risks, please read carefully the Terms of Use, and the Lido FAQ.

Participants should always conduct their own research and consult their own professional advisors to understand all potential risks before participating

Stake is distributed via the Staking Router across modules (Curated, Simple DVT, CSM) and diverse operators. DVT clusters improve fault tolerance; the Deposit Security Module (DSM) protects deposit flows; and on-chain oracles/monitoring support daily accounting. This design aims to reduce correlated risks and support high validator performance over time.

Lido protocol’s multi‑module roadmap (e.g., Curated Module, Simple DVT, Community Staking) and operator onboarding processes are designed to improve client, infrastructure, and geographic diversity over time. Institutions can track validator distribution and changes through the Validator & Node metrics dashboard.

Prioritize audited contracts and transparent security, validator‑set diversity and performance, slashing mitigation, a clear redemption path, compatibility with custody/workflows (policy controls, whitelists, approvals). Validate these items against your internal risk and procurement checklists.

The Lido Protocol is open-source software and is not considered an obligated entity required to conduct KYC/AML checks. The technical design of this specific liquid staking solution is purely non-custodial on the level of node operators and self-managed for users.

KYC/AML checks are conducted by counterparties that provide services around stETH. Depending on the specific service, the KYC/AML requirements around stETH might differ. Financial institutions that offer custody or brokerage on stETH conduct KYC/AML checks on their clients and incoming funds.

Rewards are reflected via a daily stETH rebase based on validator performance reported by Lido’s oracles. Rewards come from both the Consensus Layer and Execution Layer. A protocol fee applies only when net rewards are positive and is allocated between Node Operators and the Lido DAO (module-specific splits). Review the current fee policy in the docs before making decisions.