Liquid Staking · LDO · $19.9B TVL. Screen grades as of November 12, 2026: Solvency A, Legitimacy AA, Growth BB. stETH dominance; LDO governance concentration limits Legitimacy.
| Input / Grade | July 27, 2026 | November 12, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| TVL | $10.2B | $19.9B |
| 12-month TVL change | -35% | -33% |
| Worst 90-day drawdown | 30% | 27% |
| Drawdown scored | 30% (90-day only, v1.0) | 33% (worse of 90-day and 12-month, v1.1) |
| Solvency (credit grade) | A · 79.3 | A · 79.3 |
| Growth | BB · 56.3 | BB · 56.3 |
TVL figures: DefiLlama, parent-level listing. The July 27, 2026 TVL was an analyst estimate and may have used a narrower definition, so part of the TVL difference can be definitional. Only these three inputs were refreshed in the re-screen; sustainability, unlocks, risk, audits, team, delivery, governance, category share and momentum were left as the July 27, 2026 estimates.
Solvency screens at A (79.3 / 100), unchanged from the July 27, 2026 screen. The worst 90-day TVL drawdown is 27% and 12-month TVL change is -33%. TVL stability is scored on the 12-month decline of 33%, because it is worse than the latest 90 days. Sustainability ratio (3x), unlock pressure (1%) and risk quality (8 / 10) are carried over from July 27, 2026.
Legitimacy screens at AA (81 / 100). No Legitimacy input was refreshed in the November 12, 2026 re-screen, so the grade is unchanged from July 27, 2026.
Growth screens at BB (56.3 / 100), unchanged from the July 27, 2026 screen. TVL is $19.9B, -33% over twelve months (it was -35% at the previous screen). Category share (55%) and momentum (5 / 10) are carried over from July 27, 2026.
The credit grade is Solvency A. Legitimacy is AA and the Growth outlook is BB; the weakest axis is Growth. These grades use TVL data as of November 12, 2026 and qualitative inputs from July 27, 2026.
The credit grade answers one question: can Lido survive stress and pay its users back. Legitimacy (AA) and the Growth outlook (BB) are published beside it and are never averaged into it. Weakest axis: Growth.
| Protocol | Solvency | Legitimacy | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lido (this page) | A | AA | BB |
| Jito | BBB | A | B |
| Rocket Pool | BBB | AA | CCC |
| Marinade | BBB | A | B |
| Sanctum | BBB | BBB | BB |
| mETH Protocol | BBB | BBB | B |
| StakeWise | BBB | BBB | CCC |
Lido is the incumbent of Ethereum liquid staking: stETH remains the most widely integrated staking derivative in DeFi, and the protocol still commands roughly 55% of its category at $10.2B TVL. The screen reads it as a strong, cash-generating infrastructure asset whose open question is not survival but direction — its growth dimension lags well behind its balance-sheet strength.
Solvency screens at A. The protocol earns a genuine fee stream on staking rewards (sustainability ratio ~3x emissions), unlock pressure is negligible with LDO long since distributed, and operational risk posture is mature. The main deduction is the ~30% worst 90-day TVL drawdown — staking TVL is inherently ETH-price beta, so deposit value swings with the market even when unit share holds.
Legitimacy screens at AA on deep audit coverage, a long-tenured public team, and a delivery record that includes the successful withdrawal-era transition and dual-governance work. The one structural deduction is governance: LDO voting power is concentrated enough that token-holder control remains more oligarchic than the validator-set decentralization the protocol championed.
Growth is the weak dimension at BB. Twelve-month TVL is down ~35% in a sector-wide drawdown, and while category share is still dominant, the restaking and LRT wave has been absorbing the marginal staked ether that once defaulted to Lido. Momentum is middling rather than negative — share is stable, but the frontier of the category has moved.
The screen composite is BB, capped by growth rather than by any balance-sheet concern. Lido is a candidate for a full rating on the strength of its Solvency and Legitimacy profile; the watch items for that exercise are governance concentration and whether stETH's integration moat converts back into net inflows when the staking cycle turns.
