Key Notes
- stVaults allow isolated, purpose-built staking setups with access to stETH liquidity and transparency, deployed by Lido.
- Early adopters and supporters include Linea for native yield on bridged ETH and Nansen for staking paired with DeFi strategies.
- Institutions and node operators can now configure vaults for specific compliance and operational needs.
Lido, the leading liquid staking protocol on Ethereum, has brought stVaults to mainnet. Linea, Nansen, and several institutional stakers joined on day one as early users.
In summary, the new primitive deployed today, Jan. 30, lets protocols, Layer 2 (L2) networks, institutions, and other users set up dedicated staking vaults. These vaults stake Ethereum ETH $2 744 24h volatility: 1.1% Market cap: $330.96 B Vol. 24h: $41.93 B through selected node operators while issuing stETH, the protocol’s liquid staking token.
The launch followed a year of testing with partners like Chorus One and P2P.org.
Lido V3 is live on Ethereum mainnet, introducing stVaults:
Modular staking infrastructure for builders, powered by stETH.
↓
— Lido (@LidoFinance) January 30, 2026
Several users went live on day one, showing support for Lido’s deployment. Consensys-backed L2 Linea uses a protocol-controlled stVault to offer automatic staking and yield on bridged ETH. Analytics firm Nansen introduced its first Ethereum staking product, linking stVaults to stETH-based DeFi options and onchain insights.
Node operators including P2P.org, Chorus One, Pier Two, and Sentora also participated, alongside institutional stakers such as Solstice, Twinstake, Northstake, and Everstake. Lido contributors told The Block that teams no longer need to build staking infrastructure, integrations, and liquidity from scratch.
“The release marks a structural shift in how Ethereum staking products are built and deployed. Until now, teams launching staking products have typically had to bootstrap infrastructure, integrations, and liquidity from scratch,” The Block quoted.
Understanding Lido stVaults
Basically, stVaults turn Lido into modular infrastructure. Users can adjust fee structures beyond the standard 10% charge, set risk profiles, or add compliance controls like validator customization and deposit checks.
The vaults remain opt-in and isolated to limit risks to the broader protocol. Lido issues stETH, a liquid token that tracks ETH staking rewards and works across DeFi. Notably, the token has a market cap of around $27 billion and accounts for about a quarter of all liquid staking tokens, according to The Block data.
In August 2025, Lido’s TVL reached a new high alongside lending platform AAVE, as covered by Coinspeaker. Later in October, VanEck filed for the first ETF tied to Lido-staked Ethereum, which has not been approved nor denied as of this writing.
The recent mainnet rollout expands options for Ethereum staking participants while keeping stETH at the center.
