Lido's Market Share Shrinks Amid Institutional Staking Boom

Lido, a liquid-staking protocol for Ethereum (ETH), has seen its market share shrink to 21.18% in the first half of 2026, despite a growing institutional staking boom.

The company's operating and financial report shows that Lido added 386,000 ETH over the half, reaching 9.13 million ETH from a rounded opening balance of 8.74 million. This growth, however, only accounted for about 5.7% of Ethereum's net staking growth in the first half.

Lido attributes much of this dilution to institutional capital entering other routes, with its market share falling from 23.93% to 21.18%. The company's report highlights that the institutional segment expanded from 25.9% to 35.3% of staking during H1.

Lido offers a fee waiver for institutions, favoring adoption over immediate income. The company also provides stVaults, staking vaults with their own fee terms, which can retain a 0% Lido infrastructure fee through Oct. 31 for eligible node operators running stVaults with more than 250 ETH in total value locked.