Anchorage Digital adds Lido support, giving institutions access to wstETH

Federally regulated crypto bank Anchorage Digital said Thursday it has added support for Lido, Ethereum’s dominant liquid staking protocol.

Through the integration, institutional clients gain direct access to Lido's wrapped staked ETH token, wstETH, via Anchorage’s platform, the company said in a statement.

Anchorage clients can connect to the Lido dApp and mint and burn wstETH. In this manner, Anchorage users gain exposure to liquid Ethereum while simultaneously taking advantage of Anchorage's custody and governance controls, according to Thursday's statement.

"Liquid staking has become one of the most important building blocks for institutional participation in Ethereum," Anchorage co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley said. "By integrating with Lido, we’re giving institutions access to wstETH without the operational or security tradeoffs that have historically kept large allocators on the sidelines."

Perhaps the added access to (wstETH) could bolster Lido revenues, which declined last year. In March, Lido said that in 2025 revenues fell over 20% as users withdrew funds and staking yields declined.

Traditional Ethereum staking requires locking up ETH for extended periods while running validator infrastructure, limiting liquidity and capital efficiency. Lido’s liquid staking model solves this by issuing wstETH in exchange for staked ETH. Holders continue earning staking rewards while maintaining a transferable token that can be traded, used as collateral, or deployed across DeFi applications.

"Anchorage Digital’s integration brings wstETH into an important U.S. institutional platform and strengthens the role of stETH and the Lido protocol in institutional Ethereum staking," Lido Ecosystem Foundation's Head of Institutional Relations Kean Gilbert said.