Ethereum

DeFi

Lido Staked ETH

Million

Rocket Pool

<h2 id="key-points">Key Points</h2> 
<li>Lido Finance, a major decentralized finance protocol on Ethereum, has gained a million validators.</li> 
<li>Liquid staking protocols like Lido Finance have significantly contributed to the growth of DeFi and now hold over $47.7 billion in total value locked.</li> 
Lido Finance, a leading liquid staking protocol on <a href="https://crypto.ro/en/cryptocurrencies/ethereum/">Ethereum</a>, recently announced that it has amassed a million validators. 
The protocol makes staking more accessible for retail users with limited capital, eliminating the need for 32 Ether (ETH) to run their own validator nodes on Ethereum. 
<h2 id="lido-finance-s-impact-on-ethereum-staking">Lido Finance’s Impact on Ethereum Staking</h2> 
Lido Finance is responsible for 28.5% of staked Ether, while another 13.6% is staked through the <a href="https://crypto.ro/en/exchange/gdax/">Coinbase</a> exchange, as per Dune data. 
At present, more than 27% of the total Ether supply is staked. 
Protocols like Lido have grown rapidly due to the liquidity benefits they offer to users. 
Those who stake their Ether with Lido receive the protocol’s Lido Staked ETH (stETH) in return, which can then be used in other DeFi protocols. 
In contrast, with regular staking, the staked Ether tokens would remain locked and unusable for the staking period. 
Liquid staking is significantly contributing to the rise of DeFi. 
The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols soared from $36 billion in Q4 2023 to a peak of $97 billion in the first quarter of 2024, with the current TVL sitting at $92.32 billion according to DefiLlama. 
This 65.6% quarter-on-quarter increase was largely due to liquid staking protocols like Lido, as stated by on-chain intelligence provider Messari. 
Liquid staking protocols have accumulated over $47.7 billion in cumulative TVL, with Lido holding over $29.9 billion, followed by Rocket Pool with $3.86 billion in TVL. 
Liquid staking protocols remain the largest protocol category in DeFi, with $47.6 billion in combined TVL across 164 protocols. 
Lending comes second with $30.7 billion in TVL, followed by cross-chain bridges with $21.8 billion in combined TVL. 
Notable crypto founders have expressed concerns about Lido’s growing dominance. 
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has previously pointed out potential centralization risks with Lido in a blog post from September 2023. 
Buterin stated that if a single staking token dominates, it could lead to a single, potentially vulnerable governance gadget controlling a large portion of all Ethereum validators. 
Despite this, protocols like Lido have implemented safeguards against such risks, although Buterin suggests that one layer of defense may not be sufficient.

DeFi Flourishes as Lido Finance Surpasses 1 Million Validators Milestone

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