Anchorage Digital Adds Lido Support, Opens Liquid Staking Access for Institutions
Anchorage Digital, the only federally chartered crypto bank in the United States, has integrated with Lido, the largest liquid staking protocol on Ethereum. This integration lets institutional clients connect to the Lido dApp directly from the Anchorage Digital platform, where they can mint and burn wstETH, Lido’s wrapped staked ETH token, without moving assets to a separate venue. Institutions holding ETH through Anchorage Digital can now stake it via Lido and receive wstETH in return. This token tracks Ethereum staking rewards while remaining liquid and transferable, unlike ETH locked directly with a validator. Custody, staking, and governance now reside within one regulated environment, eliminating the need for institutions to split operations across multiple platforms or assume added counterparty risk to access liquid staking.
Nathan McCauley, co-founder and CEO of Anchorage Digital, stated that liquid staking has become a crucial building block for institutional participation in Ethereum, and that the integration removes operational and security tradeoffs that previously deterred large allocators. Direct ether staking involves locking up capital, running dedicated infrastructure, and waiting through unbonding periods—challenges that liquid staking addresses. By staking through Lido, holders receive wstETH, which earns rewards while remaining usable across supported onchain markets as collateral or in DeFi strategies, without unwinding the underlying stake.
Kean Gilbert, head of institutional relations at the Lido Ecosystem Foundation, noted that institutional adoption depends on access that aligns with operational needs. The Anchorage Digital integration brings wstETH into a major US institutional platform, strengthening the role of stETH and Lido in institutional Ethereum staking.
For institutions already custodying ETH with Anchorage Digital, this update simplifies earning staking yield without exporting assets to a separate provider. The move supports Anchorage Digital’s broader strategy of layering staking, liquid staking, restaking, governance, and settlement into a single platform under one compliance umbrella. This integration addresses key institutional objections—security and flexibility—by pairing regulated custody with liquid staking access. It does not alter Ethereum’s staking mechanics but provides a compliant path for institutions to participate without leaving their trusted custody relationship.