Lido Finance, a prominent player in Ethereum’s staking realm with close to 10 million ETH deposits, has wielded considerable influence in the market.
However, recent developments have seen its dominance wane, with its stake dropping below 30% amid the rise of alternative liquid restaking protocols.
Ethereum observer Anthony Sasson noted this shift, attributing it in part to a significant attack by Puffer amounting to over $1 billion.
Sasson advocates for increased competition in the staking sector to curb Lido’s monopolistic tendencies, foreseeing a more decentralized ecosystem as competition intensifies.
These discussions echo concerns raised by Evan Van Ness in September 2023 about Lido’s growing dominance, which reached 33% at the time, posing risks of network manipulation.
While Lido’s platform offers returns from staking and provides users with liquid derivatives of their locked ETH, enabling participation in decentralized finance (DeFi), the emergence of platforms like Ether.fi presents a challenge to Lido’s stronghold.
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