The Growth of Lido: Crossing $15 Billion in Total Value Locked
In July, Lido, one of the leading liquid-staking platforms, reached a significant milestone as the total value locked (TVL) crossed $15 billion, a level not seen since May 2022. This accomplishment was driven by 10,000 unique ether depositors opting into the protocol. The number of unique ether depositors surpassed 166,000, indicating a 6.66% increase from the previous month.
The increase in TVL and unique depositors comes at a time when the number of staked ETH in DeFi liquidity pools has decreased by over 53%. This decline in liquidity is primarily due to the uncertainty surrounding the recent Curve exploit, causing many liquidity providers to withdraw until there is more clarity.
However, despite the decrease in stETH in DeFi liquidity pools, there is still strong demand for stETH in lending protocols and layer 2 rollups. Market participants are not only using stETH as collateral for loans but also bridging their LST to layer 2 rollups. For example, Aave currently holds over 736,000 stETH, and both Arbitrum and Optimism bridges have seen significant increases in wstETH deposits.
Key Points:
- Lido’s TVL surpassed $15 billion, the highest level since May 2022.
- 10,000 unique ether depositors contributed to the milestone.
- Number of unique ether depositors increased by 6.66% in the past month.
- Staked ETH in DeFi liquidity pools decreased by over 53%.
- Strong demand for stETH remains for lending protocols and layer 2 rollups.
Hot Take:
The growth of Lido and the crossing of $15 billion in TVL demonstrate the continued interest and participation of crypto investors in staking and liquidity provision. Despite recent challenges in the crypto ecosystem, such as the Curve exploit, the demand for stETH remains robust. This highlights the importance of transparency and security in the DeFi space to maintain trust and attract more participants.