Developed in partnership with MixBytes, Lido Finance is a Liquid Staking solution for DOT. Users can stake their DOT with Lido on Polkadot and Moonbeam to earn daily staking rewards and benefit from the many opportunities available on Moonbeam and the larger Polkadot DeFi ecosystems.

• Liquid Staking on Lido allows users to stake their DOT for instant daily rewards, staking and unstaking, as well as some profit opportunities on Polkadot DeFi.

• Stake DOT to get stDOT – a re-basic token with a balance that will grow in your wallet every day with rewards.

• Maximize rewards through dynamically reallocating stakes.

• Minimize slashing risk through a split-ledger system.

Polkadot’s Lido Finance

The launch of Lido Finance on Polkadot allows DOT holders to stake their assets while still being able to use those staked tokens and contributes to the security and stability of Polkadot.

When staking DOT with Lido, users will receive a DOT token (stDOT) in exchange for the staked token. stDOT is a re-basicable token similar to stETH with rewards reflected in daily balance increments. Your stDOT represents your staked tokens, accumulating rewards with no linking delay and can be sold without waiting for the unstake period, reducing the risk of events slash. Rewards are maximized through dynamic allocation to the most profitable DOT validator nodes.

These stDOT tokens can then be used to earn additional profits by leveraging the Moonbeam DeFi ecosystem (e.g., using staked DOT as collateral in stable pools on Curve). Once deposited on Moonbeam, your xcDOT (DOT cross-chain) and stDOT are XC-20 tokens, which work like ERC-20 but include native cross-chain capabilities. They can be used in applications on Moonbeam, as well as in all applications on parachains connected to Polkadot. Unlike DOT, xcDOT can be held in your MetaMask wallet using new or existing Ethereum addresses.

Lido on Polkadot works on Moonbeam, a Polkadot smart contract platform. Moonbeam is rapidly becoming the premier destination for multi-chain DApps, allowing these applications to take full advantage of cross-chain interoperability within and outside of Polkadot. This starts with Moonbeam’s Ethereum compatibility, making it easy for new users to use familiar wallets (MetaMask and more) with their existing Ethereum addresses for easy access to multi-chain applications like Lido.

Stake DOT on Lido Finance Guide

Move DOT to the Moonbeam network

Go to Polkadot.lido.fi and click on the Transfers tab.

Use Downward mode to transfer DOT and receive xcDOT, and Upward to transfer xcDOT to receive DOT.

Then you need to connect your Metamask and Polkadot.js.

In some cases, you will see Connect Wallet (for Metamask) or Connect Polkadot Wallet (for Polkadot.js wallet) buttons – click them. They will connect to your account immediately or direct you to the settings page (if you don’t have them installed).

If you see such a token below, you’re all set and ready to transfer a token.

At the top of this card, you see two rows with data. The first one corresponds to your connected Polkadot Wallet, and the second one shows the Metamask Wallet data. You can view your current account balance.

Enter the desired amount of DOT in the box. In the pop-up window from Polkadot.JS, enter the password and wait for the transaction to be successful.

You are now ready to stake your first xcDOT tokens.

Stake xcDOT

To stake your xcDOT tokens and start receiving rewards, you should visit the Stake page.

On the Stake & Unstake page, select the Stake item.

When you stake some xcDOT, you will get stDOT in return. First, you need to unlock the stake.

You will then see that the Unlock Tokens button has turned into a Stake button. Repeat the above steps – click the button, confirm the transaction in the Metamask popup, and wait for the transaction to complete successfully.

Unstake stDOT

To unstake your stDOT, you should visit the Stake page.

“Stached amount” shows your current stDOT balance from the connected Metamask account.

When you withdraw stDOT tokens, they will appear in the “Waiting for unbonding” section. It takes about 30 days for them to move to the “Available for claim” section.

You can instantly get the xcDOT “Available for Claim” token by clicking the “Claim” button, confirming the requested transaction in Metamask, and waiting for the transaction confirmation.

“Moonbeam balance” shows your current xcDOT balance and connected Metamask account.

To withdraw stDOT tokens, enter the desired amount of DOT in the input box. In the popup from Metamask, confirm the withdrawal transaction and wait for it to be confirmed.

Once the unbonding period is over (it takes about 30 days in Polkadot), you will be able to claim xcDOT just by clicking the “Claim” button and signing the transaction in Metamask.

So, you have successfully staked or unstaked DOT with Lido Finance!

stDOT phase of launch

Phase 1

During the first phase of stDOT (3–4 weeks from launch), there will be a stake limit of 500,000 DOT ($5 million), with six bonus feats run by the MixBytes team. This phase will also include the launch of the Curve stableswap pool for stDOT and xcDOT.

Phase 2

After the Lido on Polkadot is active for about a month, the DOT stake limit will be removed. At this point, additional DeFi protocols will be released to support stDOT.

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