Liquid Staking Protocols See Surge, Locking $27 Billion of Ethereum
In the past six months, there has been a significant increase in the volume of ether deposits and the overall value of Ethereum in liquid staking protocols. As of July 5, 2023, 10.16 million ether were locked in these protocols, valued at $19.69 billion. However, this number has now risen to 12.31 million ether, worth $27.49 billion, according to archived records from defillama.com.
Ethereumβs Liquid Staking Protocols
These protocols allow participants to stake their ETH while retaining liquidity by receiving representative tokens that can be used in decentralized finance (defi) platforms. By staking ETH, users receive liquid derivatives like Lidoβs STETH or Rocket Poolβs RETH, which represent their stake and any accumulated rewards.
Changes in Protocol Holdings
Lido Finance currently holds the majority share of the deposited ether, with over 75% of the total. They have seen a massive increase in holdings from 7.56 million ETH to 9.26 million ETH. Rocket Pool and Binance’s liquid staking protocols have also experienced growth, with Rocket Pool’s holdings rising from 810,502 ETH to 1.09 million ETH, and Binance’s holdings increasing from 72,077 ETH to 779,785 ETH.
The Rise of Mantle and Swell
Mantle and Swell have emerged as prominent players in the liquid staking space, surpassing Stakewise in terms of holdings. Mantle now holds 174,532 ETH, while Swell holds 142,725 ETH. Overall, the top 27 liquid staking protocols have seen an addition of 2.15 million ETH, valued at $4.83 billion, in the past six months.
Hot Take: Liquid Staking Gains Momentum
The surge in liquid staking protocols, with millions of ETH locked in these platforms, indicates the growing interest in staking while maintaining liquidity. With the continuous rise in deposits and the emergence of new protocols, it is clear that liquid staking is here to stay and will play a significant role in the Ethereum ecosystem.
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