🌎 Lido Launches New Institutional Staking Product for Secure DeFi

Decentralized finance protocol Lido has introduced a new staking product tailored for institutional investors. Lido Institutional, launched on Aug. 2, is a liquid staking solution designed for custodians, asset managers, exchanges, and other institutional entities.

“The introduction of Lido Institutional underscores Lido’s ongoing commitment to provide a staking solution tailored to the high standards of custodians, asset managers, exchanges, and more,” Lido stated.

Security and Deep Liquidity

Lido, known for its leading liquid staking token Lido staked Ether, aims to maintain its dominance with this new solution. The objective is to offer institutional investors access to Lido’s security, deep liquidity, and staking rewards. Lido Institutional provides diversified counterparty exposure, enabling participants to earn staking rewards through over 100 node operators.

Several liquid staking and restaking protocols have emerged since Ethereum’s transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, challenging Lido. However, Lido remains the largest staking protocol in decentralized finance (DeFi).

According to data, crypto deposits on Lido currently exceed $31 billion, with a peak total value locked at over $39 billion in March. This surge coincided with Ethereum’s price rising above $4,000 for the first time since its all-time high of over $4,800 in November 2021, marking increased institutional visibility in the crypto market.

stETH Dominance

Lido’s stETH is the largest and most widely adopted collateral token in decentralized finance, valued at over $10 billion. Custody solutions that offer native stETH integrations include Fireblocks and Taurus. Traditional trading and asset management platforms providing access include Matrixport and Swissborg.