Lido

Lido receives a B risk grade (24/100) from Hindenrank, where lower scores indicate lower risk. Lower risk — DeFi's most battle-tested staking protocol, but its sheer size makes it a systemic risk to Ethereum itself The largest liquid staking protocol in crypto, letting you stake ETH and receive stETH that earns rewards while staying liquid for use across DeFi. It manages ~$15B with ~23% of all staked ETH (down from a 32% peak) across 683+ operators. Dual governance (launched July 2025) gives stETH holders veto power over protocol changes. Its B grade reflects exceptional battle-testing and documentation, offset by the systemic risk of one protocol controlling so much of Ethereum's security.

The key risks identified for Lido are: (1) With ~23% of all staked ETH (down from a 32% peak), Lido remains the largest single staker but is now further from the 33% threshold where consensus interference becomes possible (2) 683+ operators run validators across curated and permissionless modules. If several fail at once, stETH could trade at a discount like it did in June 2022. A Chorus One oracle key compromise in May 2025 showed real-world attack vector viability. (3) stETH is used as collateral everywhere in DeFi. A depeg would trigger cascading liquidations across Aave, Maker, and dozens of other protocols. Lido Earn products (EarnETH, EarnUSD) add further layered counterparty risk.

Lido scores 24/100 across eight risk dimensions: Mechanism Novelty: 1/15, Interaction Severity: 3/20, Oracle Surface: 2/10, Documentation Gaps: 1/10, Track Record: 3/15, Scale Exposure: 9/10, Regulatory Risk: 2/10, Vitality Risk: 3/10. The highest risk area is Scale Exposure at 9/10.

Among 87 rated Liquid Staking protocols on Hindenrank, Lido ranks #9 by safety (lowest risk score = safest). Its 24/100 risk score and B grade place it among the safer Liquid Staking protocols.

Lido scores 3/15 on the Track Record risk dimension, indicating some history of security incidents or exploits. Higher scores reflect more severe or frequent incidents. Review the full risk report for details.