Ethereum’s institutional staking boom is growing, but Lido’s share is shrinking

Lido, the liquid-staking protocol, captured just 5.7% of Ethereum’s net staking growth in the first half of 2026. For holders of its LDO token, the business challenge is to turn a growing market into DAO income that can fund automated purchases.The gap is visible in NEST, Lido’s automated buyback mechanism. At 00:00 UTC on Sept. 9, the contract that releases funds for purchases recorded a negative cumulative budget of about $517,024 and skipped an allocation. Its negative budget measured a deficit in calculated buyback capacity. Funding was already in place, while the rules required more cumulative surplus before a purchase could be financed.Institutional routing is one part of that business challenge. Lido’s first-half report describes capital moving into segments where it captured less growth, while its current institutional offering includes a fee waiver that favors adoption over immediate income. ETH’s dollar price and the rewards earned on each staked coin also affect the outcome.A growing market, a smaller shareLido’s H1 operating and financial report puts total staked ETH at 43.1 million at June 30, compared with 36.3 million at the start of the year. Lido added 386,000 ETH ...