Liquid Staking Ethereum: Compare ETH Liquid Staking Protocols and APYs

Most people staking ETH are earning around 2.6% APY. But those who understand liquid staking Ethereum earn the same yield — while keeping their ETH free to use in DeFi at the same time. That gap is why liquid staking tokens now represent over $50B in TVL and have become the backbone of Ethereum's yield economy.

Here is how to compare your options, what to do with LSTs after you get them, and where the real risks sit.

When you stake ETH the traditional way through the Ethereum validator system, your ETH is locked. You cannot move it, lend it, or trade it until you request a withdrawal — a process that can take hours to days depending on the queue.

Liquid staking solves this by issuing you a token that represents your staked position. You deposit ETH into a protocol like Lido and receive stETH. That stETH accrues staking rewards automatically, but you can also use it in DeFi: lend it on Aave, provide liquidity in an LST pool, or deposit it elsewhere for additional yield.

If you want to understand

more broadly before comparing LSTs, that guide covers the mechanics from scratch.

The liquid staking tokens (LSTs) that matter most on Ethereum right now are stETH, rETH, cbETH, sfrxETH, mETH, and swETH. Each has a different APY, TVL, fee structure, and degree of validator decentralization.

Current rates as of March 2026. APYs fluctuate with network conditions and are net of protocol fees.

A few things stand out from this table. Lido dominates with $32B in TVL and holds a 24% share of all staked ETH — but that concentration is itself a risk (more on this below). sfrxETH consistently posts the highest APY because Frax routes all staking rewards to sfrxETH holders while the companion frxETH token earns nothing on its own. Rocket Pool offers the most decentralized architecture but its APY lands at the lower end.

Coinbase's cbETH is the easiest entry point for people already on Coinbase, but a 35% fee cut leaves less for you. If you want to

with under 32 ETH, Rocket Pool's minipool design lets you do that from as little as 0.01 ETH. And if you already understand

as separate yield strategies, LSTs sit squarely in the staking category — just with composability added.

Jumper Earn aggregates liquid staking protocols including Lido alongside lending protocols like Aave, Morpho, and Euler. You can compare ETH staking yields against lending yields and deposit from any chain, any asset, in one transaction.

Step 1: Open

and connect your wallet.

The "For You" feed shows earning opportunities matched to your holdings and chain. Switch to "All Markets" to see every available pool, including LST protocols.

Step 2: Select your liquid staking protocol.

Filter by Ethereum and ETH. You will see Lido and other integrated protocols with current APYs. Compare what fits your risk tolerance — Lido for maximum liquidity, Rocket Pool if decentralization matters to you, sfrxETH if you want the highest base rate.

Step 3: Deposit in one transaction.

If your ETH is on Arbitrum, Base, or another chain, Jumper handles the transfer to Ethereum and the deposit in a single transaction via its Zap technology. You receive your LST directly in your wallet. No manual bridging required.

This is where eth liquid staking gets interesting. The LST is not a dead asset sitting in a wallet — it is composable capital.

Collateral on lending protocols.

stETH is accepted as collateral on Aave, Compound, and Spark. You can borrow stablecoins against your stETH without losing your staking yield. See [what stETH is used for in DeFi](https://jumper.xyz/learn/what-is-steth-used-for-in-defi) for a breakdown of how this compounds across protocols.

Liquidity provision in LST pools.

Curve's stETH/ETH pool and similar venues let you provide liquidity and earn swap fees on top of staking rewards. This stacks yield on top of yield — with commensurate liquidity risk.

Restaking via EigenLayer.

stETH and rETH can be restaked via EigenLayer to earn additional AVS rewards. This adds a layer of yield and a layer of smart contract risk.

Leverage staking strategies.

Borrow ETH against stETH, stake again, repeat. This creates a leveraged staking position. It amplifies both yield and liquidation risk and is not for beginners.

Liquid staking eth does not eliminate risk. It shifts it.

Slashing.

Validators who misbehave or go offline can be slashed — meaning part of their staked ETH is destroyed. This loss flows through to LST holders proportionally. Slashing events are rare but not zero.

LST depeg.

LSTs should trade at or near 1 ETH in secondary markets. During periods of stress, most notably the May 2022 Terra collapse, stETH traded at 0.94 ETH. If you need liquidity during a depeg, you take the haircut. Longer-term holders who waited recovered to peg, but that recovery is not guaranteed.

Smart contract risk.

Lido, Rocket Pool, and every other protocol here hold billions in ETH through smart contracts. A critical vulnerability could result in total loss. DeFi has a long history of contract exploits, and staking protocols are high-value targets.

Validator concentration.

Lido controls roughly 24% of all staked ETH. If Lido's validator set acts in a coordinated way — whether through malice or a governance failure — it creates systemic risk for the entire Ethereum network. This is an ongoing debate in the Ethereum community with no clean resolution.

Withdrawal queue.

Unstaking through certain protocols still takes time. Rocket Pool and Lido both have queues that can extend several days under high demand.

For a broader view of where liquid staking risks intersect with other DeFi strategies, the

guide covers the shared failure modes across yield strategies.