Stader

Stader Labs began as a multichain staking company, offering liquid staking tokens on several proof-of-stake networks. Today its website lists Ethereum and Hedera as its networks and marks its Polygon and BNB Chain products as discontinued, with links to deprecation notices. Its main product is ETHx, an Ethereum liquid staking token, and it also runs an SD Utility Pool, which its site describes as a way to delegate SD.

Stader's terms of service name Stakeinfra Technologies Inc. as the company providing the app, without a jurisdiction, address or governing law. The site does not publish a team page we could read. According to DefiLlama's funding records, Stader raised a $4 million seed round in October 2021 and a $12.5 million strategic round in January 2022 led by Three Arrows Capital, the fund that collapsed later that year.

SD is Stader's governance token. Permissionless ETHx node operators must post SD as collateral, and SD holders vote through Stader's Snapshot space and forum. CoinGecko lists a maximum supply of 150 million SD and about 76 million in circulation as of October 2026.

A user deposits ETH into the ETHx contracts and receives ETHx at the current exchange rate. Stader's staking manager splits the ETH between two pools of node operators: a permissionless pool, which anyone can join, and a permissioned pool of curated operators. As validators earn rewards, the ETH backing each ETHx rises, so the exchange rate goes up rather than the balance.

A permissionless operator bonds 4 ETH per validator and the protocol adds 28 ETH from stakers. The operator must also hold SD collateral worth at least 0.4 ETH per validator, which is 10% of the bond, and up to 8 ETH worth earns SD rewards. To stop an operator from redirecting the deposit to its own withdrawal address, Stader first deposits 1 ETH, checks the withdrawal credentials and a pre-signed exit message, and only then adds the rest. The bond also covers slashing: Stader says the 4 ETH compensates stakers for slashing and network penalties before any ETH goes back to the operator.

This design sits between Lido, which uses curated operators without bonds, and Rocket Pool, which is fully permissionless and also uses 4 ETH bonds. Our ratings cover how ETHx compares with other liquid staking tokens.

Stader takes 10% of the staking rewards ETHx earns: 5% as a protocol fee and 5% as commission to node operators, according to its FAQ. There is no stated deposit or withdrawal fee beyond Ethereum gas. On 25 October 2026 DefiLlama showed ETHx at 2.18% APY, net of that fee.

ETHx contracts are upgradeable and pausable. Three bodies control them, according to Stader's governance page. A 6-of-9 community multisig of named outside members, including people from the Aave DAO, Stakely, Stakin, Accel, Amber Group and Digital Asset Capital Management, can upgrade and unpause contracts through a timelock with a minimum 7-day delay and can replace the other roles. A 3-of-5 manager multisig can pause contracts and change configuration, with key decisions meant to follow a DAO vote. The Stader team holds the operator role, which manages the node operator set and validator exits. Stader describes moving to full on-chain governance as a future goal.

Stader says ETHx was audited by Sigma Prime, Halborn and Code4rena, and its website also names PeckShield and OtterSec among its auditors. An Immunefi bug bounty, live since 8 July 2023, pays up to $1 million for critical smart contract bugs, calculated as 10% of affected funds with a $100,000 minimum; Immunefi last shows it updated on 1 January 2025. Validators must pre-sign exit messages so Stader can force an exit before penalties grow, and Stader uses Rated Network data to apply a 1 ETH penalty when an operator diverts MEV rewards. Stader does not describe any insurance for stakers.

The most practical risk is selling. ETHx is backed by staked ETH, but the protocol route back to ETH takes about a week or more, and a holder who wants ETH sooner must sell on a DEX, where a smaller token can trade below its exchange rate if liquidity is thin. Our explainer on why staking tokens trade below their value covers how that happens.

The other risks are smart contract bugs, losses larger than an operator's bond, oracle errors in the exchange rate, and the concentration of control in two multisigs and a team-held operator role. A shrinking product line is also a risk for users of the remaining products: Stader has already wound down two networks. We found no hack of Stader's contracts in DefiLlama's hacks database or in Stader's documentation as of October 2026.

Staking runs through the Stader app on staderlabs.com with an Ethereum wallet. The minimum is 0.0001 ETH and there is no upper limit. ETHx can then be held, used in DeFi, or sold.

To unstake through the protocol, a user first approves the ETHx and then submits a withdrawal request. The ETH received is set by the exchange rate at request time or at finalization, whichever is lower, so the holder does not earn rewards while waiting. Requests are usually processed in 7 to 10 days, depending on Ethereum's exit queue, after which the ETH is claimed in the Withdraw tab. The faster route is a swap on a DEX at the market price.

Stader's website links to its X account, Discord, Telegram, an official subreddit, its blog, documentation, GitHub and a community forum. The ETHx docs point to the same social channels for updates. Stader's terms say users may escalate complaints to a relevant supervisory authority, without naming one.

Stader's record is one of early multichain expansion followed by consolidation on Ethereum.

• October 2021: $4 million seed round, according to DefiLlama.
• January 2022: $12.5 million strategic round led by Three Arrows Capital, according to DefiLlama.
• May 2022: DefiLlama marks the UST depeg on Stader's chart; Stader ran a Terra product, LunaX, audited by Halborn.
• July 2023: the $1 million ETHx bug bounty goes live on Immunefi.
• By October 2026: Polygon and BNB Chain products listed as discontinued on Stader's site.
• October 2026: Ethereum and Hedera remain, with about $209 million in total TVL on DefiLlama.