Federally regulated crypto bank Anchorage Digital has added support for Lido, the dominant Ethereum liquid staking protocol, giving its institutional clients direct access to Lido’s wrapped staked ETH token, wstETH. The integration, announced Thursday, allows institutions to connect to the Lido decentralized application and mint or burn wstETH through Anchorage’s platform, combining liquid staking exposure with the bank’s custody and governance controls.
The move targets large allocators seeking Ethereum staking rewards without the operational burden of running validator infrastructure or locking up ETH for extended periods. By issuing wstETH in return for staked ETH, Lido enables holders to earn staking yields while using the token as collateral, in trading, or across DeFi applications. Anchorage co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley called liquid staking “one of the most important building blocks for institutional participation in Ethereum” and said the integration removes security and operational tradeoffs that have historically kept large investors on the sidelines.
For Lido, the timing is significant after a challenging 2025, when revenues fell over 20% amid user withdrawals and declining staking yields. Lido Ecosystem Foundation’s head of institutional relations, Kean Gilbert, said the Anchorage integration brings wstETH into an important U.S. institutional platform and strengthens the role of stETH and the Lido protocol in institutional Ethereum staking. The next test will be actual institutional uptake, as liquid staking seeks durable demand beyond early crypto-native users.
