EigenCloud vs Lido

EigenLayer is a restaking marketplace on Ethereum that lets ETH validators and LST holders opt‑in to provide crypto‑economic security to external ‘Actively Validated Services’ (AVSs). Participants earn additional yield by subjecting their stake to slashing conditions defined by each module, creating a shared‑security layer similar to Polkadot’s parachains. Mainnet restaking went live in April 2024, and over 4 million ETH had been opt‑in restaked by Q2 2025.

Lido is the largest liquid‑staking protocol, minting stETH and other LSTs that track underlying validator balances 1:1 minus a 10 % reward fee. Its dual‑dao governance splits responsibility between the Lido DAO and the protocol’s Node Operator Registry, reducing centralisation risk. By May 2025 over 9 million ETH—roughly 30 % of staked supply—was custodied under Lido smart contracts.