Lido’s Share of Ethereum Staking Shrinks Amid Institutional Growth

Lido’s liquid‑staking protocol added 386,000 ETH to its pool in the first half of 2026, bringing its total to 9.13 million ETH. Despite this growth, the protocol’s share of the network’s net increase fell to 5.7%, and its overall market share dropped from 23.93% to 21.18%.

Institutional Staking Gains Ground

During the same period, the institutional segment of Ethereum staking expanded from 25.9% to 35.3% of total stake. Major players reported the following shares at June 30:

• Bitmine – 11.5%
• Coinbase – 10.9%
• Binance – 7.9%
• Grayscale (via Coinbase) – 3.1%

These routes generate staking rewards without incurring Lido’s protocol fee, diluting Lido’s proportion of the total reward pool.

Fee Waivers and New Institutional Partnerships

Lido announced a $200 million deployment of ETH through Sharplink, with wstETH held by Anchorage Digital. The protocol also introduced a fee‑waiver program for qualifying stVaults, removing the 0% infrastructure fee for vaults holding more than 250 ETH until October 31.

DAO Revenue and the NEST Buyback Mechanism

The DAO’s effective share of staking rewards rose to 6.15% in H1, up from 4.96% in December, while the protocol fee remained at 10%. Gross staking revenue was reported at $27.51 million, with net staking revenue of $15.71 million after deductions. However, the NEST buyback contract showed a negative cumulative budget of about $517,024 as of September 9, causing a skipped allocation.

Implications for LDO Holders

For LDO token holders, the key metrics are the amount of ETH generating fees, the DAO’s retained reward share, and the available budget for token purchases. Institutional growth can improve these economics if the capital routes through Lido’s fee‑bearing products.