In its most recent analysis, the data analytics platform IntoTheBlock observed that the liquid staking market within the Ethereum ecosystem is continuously expanding, with the addition of new participants and a rapidly growing user base.
The report emphasized that the market for liquid staking tokens (LST) has evolved into a significant component of the cryptocurrency market. As of November 2023, IntoTheBlock reported that approximately $20 billion is currently being staked through Ethereum LSTs.
According to the report, Lido's stETH token remains the dominant liquid token, despite facing increased competition in the space. The report highlighted the Ethereum Shapella upgrade, which introduced staking withdrawals in April 2023, as a catalyst for the competitive growth in the liquid staking sector.
Prior to the upgrade, IntoTheBlock noted that Lido held more than 90% of the market share for liquid staking tokens. However, since then, new players have captured about 15% of the market share, driven by growing investor confidence in the market.
The report revealed that an astonishing $18.3 billion is staked through Lido's stETH token, making it the leader in terms of total value staked. Additionally, the protocol boasts the highest number of token holders in the market, with an impressive 238.6k unique addresses holding the token.
In a similar vein, IntoTheBlock highlighted the growth of Rocket Pool's rETH token within the LST protocol. The analysis indicated that rETH is the second-largest LST token in the market, thanks to its strong commitment to decentralization.
Furthermore, the report noted a significant increase in the user base of ankrETH. Notably, ankrETH, which ranks second in terms of the number of holders, now has over 14.9k holders. However, the report acknowledged that there still exists a substantial gap between the two leading tokens.
Meanwhile, the report pointed out the concentration of large whale holders within the LDO token, which serves as Lido's governance token. Specifically, Lido's whale concentration has decreased by more than 10% over the past year. Currently, 56.4% of the tokens staked on the platform are under the control of whale investors.
