ether.fi vs Lido

Ether.fi offers non‑custodial liquid staking where users mint eETH while retaining full control of validator withdrawal credentials via a smart‑contract escrow. Validators are run by a professional operator marketplace, and any user can migrate their keys or exit to the beacon chain 1:1. Launched in March 2023, ether.fi holds over 800 k ETH and shares validator bribe rewards with stakers through the ETHfi governance token.

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.