Lido DAO (LDO)

Lido DAO (LDO) is the governance token of Lido, a liquid staking protocol built primarily on Ethereum. Lido allows holders of proof-of-stake assets such as ETH to stake without locking up funds or running their own validator infrastructure, which normally requires 32 ETH and technical expertise. Depositors receive a liquid staking token, stETH, representing their staked ETH plus accrued rewards, which can be transferred, traded, or used across decentralized finance applications while the underlying assets remain staked.

The protocol pools deposits from many users and routes them to a set of DAO-approved professional node operators, removing the barriers to entry associated with solo staking. This approach has made Lido one of the largest liquid staking platforms by total value staked, though its scale has also drawn scrutiny within the Ethereum community over validator concentration risk.

LDO itself does not represent staked assets or accrue staking rewards directly; it is a token-weighted governance instrument. Holders vote on protocol parameters including fee structures, approval of node operators, treasury management, and smart contract upgrades, and a Dual Governance mechanism gives stETH holders a veto layer alongside LDO voting power. The total supply of LDO was fully issued at launch, so the token has no ongoing inflation from protocol emissions.