Withdrawals

There exist a number of potential risks when staking using the Lido protocol. Some of these risks include:

• Smart contract security

  There is an inherent risk that Lido Protocol could contain a smart contract vulnerability or bug. The Lido code is open-sourced, audited and covered by an extensive Immunefi bug bounty program to minimise this risk. To mitigate smart contract risks, all of the core Lido contracts are audited. Audit reports can be found here.

• Slashing risk

  Validators risk staking penalties, with up to 100% of staked funds at risk if validators fail. To minimise this risk, Lido stakes across multiple professional and reputable node operators with heterogeneous setups, with additional mitigation in the form of self-coverage.

• stToken price risk

  Users risk an exchange price of stTokens which is lower than inherent value due to withdrawal restrictions on Lido protocol, making arbitrage and risk-free market-making impossible.

For further information and details about these and other potential risks, please read carefully the Terms of Use.

Always conduct your own research and consult your own professional advisors to understand all potential risks before participating.

Users can unstake their stETH or wstETH through withdrawals. Upon unstaking stETH, they will receive ETH at a 1:1 ratio. When unstaking wstETH, the unwrapping process will take place seamlessly in the background.

Users have two ways to exit their staked position:

1. Withdraw via Lido Withdrawals - unstake and receive ETH at a 1:1 ratio after the withdrawal waiting period
2. Swap via CowSwap - instantly exchange stETH or wstETH into other tokens directly using CowSwap through the Lido UI

Withdrawal via Lido:

1. ETH at a fixed 1:1 rate
2. Requires waiting time (typically 1–5 days)
3. No price impact
4. Subject to queue and protocol conditions

Swap via CowSwap:

1. Instant execution
2. No waiting period
3. Market-based rate (may differ from 1:1)
4. Access to multiple assets
5. Powered by CowSwap

When using CowSwap, you can swap your stETH or wstETH into: ETH, WETH, USDC, USDT, USDS and WBTC.

The withdrawal process is simple and has two steps:

1. Request withdrawal: Lock your stETH/wstETH by issuing a withdrawal request. ETH is sourced to fulfill the request, and then locked stETH is burned, which marks the withdrawal request as claimable. Under normal circumstances, this can take anywhere between 1-5 days.
2. Claim: Claim your ETH after the withdrawal request has been processed.

Press the Request tab, choose an amount of stETH/wstETH to withdraw, then press ‘Request withdrawal’. Confirm the transaction using your wallet and press ‘Claim’ on the Claim tab once it is ready.

In the Lido UI, select the DEX option powered by CowSwap, choose the token you want to receive, and confirm the transaction in your wallet. The swap will be executed without a withdrawal waiting period.

Yes, stakers can:

1. transform their stETH to ETH 1:1 using the Request and Claim tabs.
2. swap stETH to ETH instantly via CowSwap

Yes, you can:

1. transform your wstETH to ETH using the Request and Claim tabs. In that case note that, under the hood, wstETH will unwrap to stETH first, so your request or swap will be denominated in stETH
2. swap wstETH via CowSwap

When you request to withdraw wstETH, it is automatically unwrapped into stETH, which then gets transformed into ETH. The main withdrawal period is when stETH is transformed into ETH. That's why you see the amount pending denominated in stETH.

On Request tab interface, you can see the current estimation of the withdrawal waiting time for new requests. The withdrawal request time depends on the requested amount, the overall amount of stETH in the queue, and other factors.

• Demand for staking and unstaking.
• The amount of stETH in the queue.
• Protocols rules of finalization of requests.
• Exit queue on the Beacon chain.
• Performance of the validator poolside.
• The protocol mode (Turbo mode or Bunker mode)

No. After you request a withdrawal or execute a swap, the stETH/wstETH submitted will not receive staking rewards on top of your submitted balance.

There’s no withdrawal fee, but as with any Ethereum interaction, there will be a network gas fee. Lido does not collect a fee when you request a withdrawal. Swaps via CowSwap may include: market pricing differences, solver/execution fees, Lido fee, and Ethereum gas fees.

The waiting time could be changed due to several factors affecting waiting time. That's why it may either increase or decrease.

The amount you can claim may differ from your initial request due to a slashing occurrence and penalties. For these reasons, the total claimable reward amount could be reduced.

Turbo mode is a default mode used unless an emergency event affects the Ethereum network. In Turbo Mode, withdrawal requests are fulfilled quickly, using all available ETH from user deposits and rewards.

Bunker mode is an emergency mode that activates under three worst-case conditions (when penalties are large enough to significantly impact the protocol’s rewards).

Importantly, Bunker mode allows for orderly withdrawals to be still processed, albeit more slowly, during chaotic tail-risk scenarios (e.g. mass slashings or a significant portion of validators going offline).

Bunker mode is triggered under three conditions when the penalties might be big enough to have a significant impact on the protocol’s rewards:

1. Mass slashing.
2. Penalties exceeding rewards in the current period between two Oracle reports.
3. Lower than expected Lido validators' performance in the current period between two Oracle reports and penalties exceeding rewards at the end of it.

Slashing is a penalty that affects validators for intentional or accidental misbehavior.

Mass slashing event is when slashing penalties are big enough to have the impact on Protocol's rewards in the current frame or in the future, esp. midterm penalties.

Slashing penalties are spread across stakers and may lower your total reward amount. For more information, check out What Are Staking/Validator Penalties.

Most often, the stETH/wstETH withdrawal period will be from 1-5 days. However, if any scenarios cause Bunker mode to happen, this could be extended.

Request size should be at least ... wei (in stETH), and at most ... stETH.

If you want to withdraw more than ... stETH, your withdrawal request will be split into several requests, but you will still only pay one transaction fee.

Each withdrawal request is represented by an NFT: the NFT is automatically minted for you when you send a request. You will need to add it to your wallet to be able to monitor the request status. When the request is ready for the claim, the NFT will change it's appearance.

Different wallets have specific functionality for adding and working with NFT. Most often, you need to find the specific NFT Address and Token ID. These parameters you can find on Etherscan. Visit Etherscan, add your wallet, and locate the NFT transaction. Once located, open the NFT transaction, and you will see the Address and Token ID.

If you are a MetaMask user, use this guide.

Maybe your wallet doesn’t support the automatic changing of the NFT view. To renew the NFT, you can import the Address and Token ID of your NFT, and it could change it's appearance to a new “Ready to claim” one.