Historical retrospective · DeFi
Liquid staking tokens connected staking rewards with DeFi liquidity
Lido’s stETH represented a claim associated with ETH deposited into its staking system, allowing holders to use a liquid token while validator operations ran separately.
The design addressed the illiquidity and operational complexity of solo staking for some users.
Liquid staking became a major bridge between proof-of-stake participation and DeFi collateral markets.
A liquid staking token is not the same as immediately withdrawable ETH; redemption depends on protocol rules, validator queues and market liquidity.
Primary source
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