In the last 64 days, Ethereum (ETH) staked in liquidity platforms has seen a remarkable increase of $26.85 billion, reaching a total of $54.34 billion. From January 6th, where 1.56 million ETH were locked in Liquid Staking Derivatives (LSD) protocols, the total value of Ethereum in staking has surged, reflecting the growing interest in these financial instruments.
Ethereum’s price has risen by 12.5% over the past week and by 56.9% over the last month, with ETH now trading just over $3900. This increase in ETH’s dollar value has boosted the assets in liquid financial derivatives to $54.34 billion, accounting for more than half of the total value of all decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
Lido Finance dominates this space, managing 71.04% of the staked ETH, which amounts to 9.85 million ETH. Rocket Pool follows with 1.13 million ETH valued at $4.41 billion. Other significant holders include Binance, Mantle, and Stakestone, each managing less than 1 million ETH. Notably, Binance controls 891,881 ETH, while Stakestone holds 339,422 ETH.
Other notable companies in this domain include Frax, Swell, Coinbase, Stader, and Stakewise, with Mantle showing the most significant growth over 30 days at 25.78%. However, Frax and Coinbase experienced declines of 3.79% and 1.95%, respectively.
Since their inception, liquid staking protocols have attracted a significant following, with millions of ETH flowing into LSD platforms. This phenomenon raises questions about the sustainability of this growth and the satisfaction of stakers with a 5% annual return amidst a bullish market. Speculations arise on the potential for a mass withdrawal of ETH from staking to exchange trading pots, especially with forecasts pointing towards April as a critical month for possible maximum outflows from LSD protocols.