Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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Lido has announced that it has laid off 15% of its workforce.
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The co-founder said the move was to ensure the long-term sustainability of the protocol.
Lido Lays Off 15% of Its Workforce
Ethereum liquid staking protocol Lido has announced that it has reduced its workforce by 15%. The company’s co-founder, Vasiliy Shapovalov, revealed that this decision was about costs, not performance, as they look to ensure long-term sustainability of the protocol.
“This is a difficult decision, but one rooted in long-term resilience. While it may seem counterintuitive amid a market upswing, the move reflects a deliberate commitment to sustainable growth, operational focus, and alignment with the priorities of LDO tokenholders,” Shapovalov added.
As part of efforts to ensure long-term sustainability, Lido Labs, Lido Ecosystem, and Lido Alliance have made the hard decision to reduce the size of their contributor teams, impacting around 15% of the workforce.
— Vasiliy Shapovalov (@_vshapovalov) August 1, 2025
This decision was about costs — not performance. It affects…
Lido is an Ethereum-based protocol and has been around since 2020. The protocol allows users to maintain liquidity with their staked ETH rather than having those funds locked away while participating in network security.
This latest development comes two months after Lido suffered from a minor hack, losing 1.4 ETH in the process. Earlier this year, Lido v3 introduced modular smart contracts called "stVaults," set to enable users to design advanced staking strategies.
Data obtained from DeFiLlama revealed that Lido is the second-largest protocol by total value locked operating in the liquid staking niche, with $31 billion locked and $90 million in annualized revenue.
