Lido sets ETH Free: V2 release unleashes withdrawal feature for stakers

• Lido has launched its V2 deployment.
• Since ETH withdrawal went live on Lido, it has seen substantial demand for ETH removal in the last 24 hours.

Following a 100% approval of its upgrade proposal, leading liquid staking platform Lido [LDO] announced the launch of its V2 deployment on 15 May. 

Following a successful on-chain vote, Lido V2 is officially here.https://t.co/36EmuagToD

?️ pic.twitter.com/sl4kjNpUYw

— Lido (@LidoFinance) May 15, 2023

How much are 1,10,100 LDOs worth today?

With the V2 deployment, Lido introduced two key components, with the “most user-facing aspect being Ethereum withdrawals.” According to Lido, in an earlier published press release, this feature will enable Staked ETH [stETH] holders to withdraw their assets directly from the Lido platform at a 1:1 ratio.

The second component introduced by the V2 upgrade was the Staking Router, an innovative modular infrastructure that allows for the seamless development of on-ramps for new Node Operators. 

Lido said:

“The Staking Router will act as the nucleus of the Lido vision: a platform where stakers, developers, and node operators can collaborate without friction and drive the future of a decentralized Ethereum together.”

Now that Lido has joined the gang…

Following the implementation of Ethereum’s [ETH] Shanghai Upgrade (Shapella) in April, some staking service providers immediately commenced partial and full withdrawal of the long-staked ETH coins on their platforms.

According to data from Dune Analytics, the staking services of centralized exchanges such as Kraken, Coinbase, and Gate.io have experienced spikes in ETH withdrawals in the last month. 

Source: Dune Analytics

For example, within the first week of the Shanghai Upgrade, Kraken logged the withdrawal of over 125,088 ETH “amidst pressure from the SEC to close down its US-based staking service,” according to on-chain data provider Glassnode. 

Since withdrawals became enabled, 1,437,859 withdrawals totaling over 277,000 ETH have been made on Lido in the last 24 hours. Additionally, data from Parsec revealed a spike in stETH aggregate withdrawals following the implementation of Lido’s V2 upgrade. 

Source: Parsec

Despite witnessing increased withdrawals in the last 24 hours, Lido retained its dominance as the leading platform for liquid ETH staking, maintaining a substantial market share of 31.39% of all staked ETH coins.

Realistic or not, here’s LDO’s market cap in ETH’s terms

As ETH withdrawals across staking providers climbed post-Shanghai, staking APR also fell. For example, on Lido, the month so far has been marked by a decrease in staking APR on the platform, per data from Dune Analytics.

As more validators exited the Ethereum Proof-of-Stake network (PoS) by withdrawing their earlier staked 32 ETH, the number of new ETH stake deposits made into the staking contract daily has been relatively unstable. According to data from Glassnode, since 12 May, this has fallen by 77%. 

Source: Glassnode