Lido’s new stVaults will let L2s create their own rules for Ethereum staking

The Lido Labs Foundation unveiled stVaults on the Ethereum mainnet on Friday.

stVaults marks a shift from a single-product model toward shared staking on the protocol through opening its infrastructure to external builders.

In simple terms, stVaults let other teams plug into Lido’s staking system instead of building their own from scratch. Until now, developing an Ethereum staking product typically meant setting up validators, integrations and liquidity independently, which can be a costly and complex process. stVaults aim to lower that barrier by letting builders use Lido’s existing plumbing while customizing how staking works for their users.

stVaults are isolated staking environments that allow teams to run custom validator configurations and optionally mint stETH, while remaining connected to Lido’s liquidity and DeFi integrations. Lido said its core staking protocol remains unchanged, with stVaults operating alongside it.

The rollout comes as Ethereum staking moves beyond one-size-fits-all products toward more specialized setups. These include institutional-grade staking with stricter controls, application-specific staking products and layer-2 networks embedding staking directly into their infrastructure, all without fragmenting liquidity across competing pools.

Initial deployments include Consensys’ layer-2 network Linea, which is using stVaults to stake a portion of bridged ETH and redirect rewards toward liquidity providers and ecosystem incentives. Blockchain analytics firm Nansen is also using stVaults to launch its first Ethereum staking product.

“stVaults show how Ethereum staking is evolving. Different users now need different setups,” said Isidoros Passadis, the chief of staking at the Lido Labs Foundation. “With stVaults, the Lido protocol can support these needs within a single framework while maintaining the liquidity and transparency that stETH is known for.”