StaderMicro-cap
Moderate risk — well-audited liquid staking with standard mechanics, balanced by permissioned operator set and multi-chain complexity.
Top Risks
1
ETHx exchange rate depends on oracle feeds for accurate pricing; a stale or manipulated oracle could cause incorrect liquidations when ETHx is used as collateral in external lending protocols.
2
Multi-chain deployment across Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, and Hedera increases attack surface, as each chain integration introduces bridge dependencies and chain-specific risks.
3
Permissioned node operator set means Stader currently controls which validators run ETHx-backed nodes, creating centralization risk in validator selection.
Risk Breakdown
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Stader safe to use?
Stader receives a B- risk grade (29/100) from Hindenrank, where lower scores indicate lower risk. Moderate risk — well-audited liquid staking with standard mechanics, balanced by permissioned operator set and multi-chain complexity. Stader is a multi-chain liquid staking platform with $323M TVL, offering ETHx on Ethereum and LSTs on BNB Chain, Polygon, and Hedera. Its B grade reflects standard liquid staking patterns with no novel mechanisms, backed by multiple audits from Sigma Prime, Halborn, and PeckShield, though the permissioned operator set and multi-chain complexity add moderate risk.
What are the main risks of using Stader?
The key risks identified for Stader are: (1) ETHx relies on oracle price feeds when used as collateral in other DeFi protocols. If these feeds lag during volatile markets, positions backed by ETHx could be incorrectly liquidated. (2) Stader uses a permissioned set of node operators rather than allowing anyone to run validators, which means the team controls validator selection. (3) During market stress, many users trying to unstake simultaneously could create redemption queue delays, potentially causing ETHx to trade below its fair value temporarily.
What is Stader's risk score breakdown?
Stader scores 29/100 across eight risk dimensions: Mechanism Novelty: 0/15, Interaction Severity: 6/20, Oracle Surface: 2/10, Documentation Gaps: 2/10, Track Record: 3/15, Scale Exposure: 5/10, Regulatory Risk: 3/10, Vitality Risk: 8/10. The highest risk area is Vitality Risk at 8/10.
How does Stader compare to other Liquid Staking protocols?
Among 81 rated Liquid Staking protocols on Hindenrank, Stader ranks #33 by safety (lowest risk score = safest). Its 29/100 risk score and B- grade place it in the middle tier of Liquid Staking protocols.
Has Stader ever been hacked or exploited?
Stader 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.
Last scanned 2026-02-26