Lido Greenlights Permissionless Ethereum Staking With 2.4 ETH Collateral

Lido, the largest liquid staking protocol, is moving to lower the barriers to Ethereum staking participation.

On Oct. 24, Lido DAO voted in favor of launching its Community Staking Module (CSM), which facilitates the permissionless launch of Ethereum validators.

The CSM also reduces the barriers to running a validator, allowing users to bond just 2.4 ETH to spin up a validator and 1.3 ETH for future validators, rather than the 32 ETH collateral typically required.

The module will initially be available to users who qualify for early adoption of the CSM, including Ethereum and Gnosis solo stakers, CSM testnet participants, and Obol Techne credential holders. Early adopters can participate with a bond of just 1.5 ETH and will receive boosted rewards.

Lido CSM will become fully permissionless “in the near future.”

“The Community Staking Module allows more people to contribute to Ethereum's security and decentralization, creating a healthier, more resilient network," said Dmitry Gusakov, Lido Protocol contributor and CSM technical lead. "We want to break down barriers, making it possible for anyone — regardless of their financial circumstances or technical expertise — to help secure Ethereum.”

CSM launched on Ethereum’s Holesky testnet on July 1, attracting participation from more than 370 node operators, including 70 solo stakers, within 10 days.

The CSM allows Lido to compete with Rocket Pool’s minipools, which allows users to launch validators with only 8 ETH.

Vitalik calls for lowering collateral for solo validators

The news comes as Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s chief scientist, is calling on developers to lower the barriers to staking participation.

On Oct. 14, Buterin penned a blog post advocating for reducing the collateral required for solo stakers to run a validator to just 1 ETH to encourage broader participation in native Ethereum staking.

“Poll after poll repeatedly show that the main factor preventing more people from solo staking is the 32 ETH minimum,” Buteirn said. “Reducing the minimum to 1 ETH would solve this issue, to the point where other concerns become the dominant factor limiting solo staking.”

However, Buterin also believes the increasing dominance of large staking providers like Lido poses a threat to Ethereum’s decentralization.

Lido currently accounts for 27.9% of the supply of Staked Ether, ranking it as the largest DeFi protocol with a total value locked of more than $24.8 billion.

The price of LDO, Lido’s governance token, is trading flat with a 0.1% gain over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.