Lido is a leading liquid staking provider solution for Ethereum and other Proof of Stake blockchains such as Polygon. Lido’s protocol allows users to add their native token (such as ETH or Matic) to a staking pool and earn returns without managing a validator by themselves or needing to individually supply the minimum staking amount required by protocols (Ethereum’s minimum is 32 ETH). Lido’s staking service is critical to the security of Ethereum’s consensus mechanism, as over 30% of all staked ETH is done so through Lido’s service. LidoDAO, which is governed by holders of the LDO token, manages the protocol as well as the use of the service fees collected by the protocol.
Lido’s community has previously signaled its support of Ethereum’s values of credible neutrality, censorship resistance, and resilience, and have attempted to develop the staking solution with this goal in mind. However, the LidoDAO has yet to create an official shared purpose, mission, and vision statement, nor any form of constitution.
This proposal, entitled “Align Lido’s Vibe (Purpose, Mission, Vision)”, outlines core values and principles to direct the DAO in its stewardship of the Lido protocol as well as its place in the Ethereum ecosystem.
The Proposal
The proposal is a significant effort to bolster the foundation of Lido’s community governance by formally expressing and agreeing on key concepts.
The following statements are put forward:
Purpose (why): Keep Ethereum decentralized, accessible to all, and resistant to censorship.
Mission (how): Make staking simple, secure, and decentralized.
Vision (where): A world in which Ethereum is the co-ordination and value layer of the internet.
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**These statements, according to the proposer, were informed by conversations with “long-time DAO contributors.” Notably, though Lido offers Solana staking services, this proposal elevates Ethereum above all else.
Indeed, in the Lido forum, the proposer, Sacha, also poses three key questions to the community:
Do these statements ring true to all of us?
Does it make sense to focus so tightly on Ethereum?
Are we willing to do the hard work to internalise this purpose and make everything we do feel true to this core?
In particular, Sacha emphasizes the core question of whether or not the Lido community is willing to take on a purpose that is “bigger than staking.” They argue that without hard work from the community to make this purpose a reality, it will “feel shallow and inauthentic.”
The proposal also suggests next steps should it pass: incorporating the above statements into the governance process and communicating these statements through a unified brand.
Governance Process
The standard governance process leverages LDO as a governance token and operates in three main stages:
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Forum discussion: discuss the proposal, preferably for at least seven days before the next stage
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Snapshot vote: post the proposal on Snapshot for token-weighted voting
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Proposal on Snapshot should be open for 7 days
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At least 5% of the total token supply must vote in order for the proposal to move on
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If the proposal is just a signal with no on-chain actions (like “Align Lido’s Vibe”), then Snapshot will be the final stage
- On-chain vote: post the proposal on-chain for token-weighted voting
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50% of voted tokens must vote For in order for the proposal to pass on-chain
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5% of total token supply must vote For in order for the proposal to pass on-chain
The current proposal is in the Snapshot stage, with 28 million LDO For the proposal and less than 300 LDO Against. 5% of the total token supply is ~44 million LDO, thus the proposal has not yet reached quorum. The proposal ends June 29, at 6PM UTC.
Stakeholders
Proposer
Sacha is a community member relatively active within the forums.
Supporters
The proposer, Sacha, mentioned that the proposed statements were informed by “long-time contributors of LidoDAO,” however, the proposer does not mention those contributors by name.
Within the discussion, Jenya, a member of the Lido team, provided support for the proposal as well, stating the importance of purpose, mission, and vision statements for an organization.
Currently, the snapshot proposal has almost 100% of voters in approval. With the biggest (identifiable) token holders in support currently being Hasu, strategic advisor for Lido, (12M LDO voted FOR) and your.eth (8.6M LDO voted FOR).
Opponents
There are no vocal opponents in the forum at this time. At time of publication, 212 LDO have voted against the proposal.
The Big Picture
This proposal offers a foundation for Lido’s role in the Ethereum ecosystem, its brand direction as a liquid staking solution, and its vision for the future of its product and community governance.
As Lido is the dominant liquid staking solution in the market with over 30% of staked Ether through their service, it carries influence over Ethereum’s ecosystem. As a result, the way LidoDAO views its purpose, mission, and vision has important ramifications for Ethereum’s future.
Although the proposed purpose of “keep[ing] Ethereum decentralized, accessible to all, and resistant to censorship” indeed signals good intentions from the Lido community, its impact relies on how Lido translates those intentions into action.
As signaled in this proposal’s and forum discussion, this proposal is just the start of LidoDAO implementing these ideas. Given Lido’s size and market position, this vote and the next steps taken by the DAO are worth watching.