Lido Introduces New Node Operator Tiers and Extended Minting Caps in V3 Update

• Lido DAO’s V3 rollout is now in the third phase, allowing any node operator to mint stETH across all stVaults.
• **It also adds four new tiers for the identified node operators, each with its own reserve ratios and minting limits. **

Lido DAO has announced the rollout of the third version of its protocol, V3, which democratizes stETH minting across all stVaults. The DAO stated that stETH minting is now permissionless for all stVaults and that the minting cap for all identified node operators has been extended.

Lido V3 Phase 3 is live!

stETH minting is now permissionless for all stVaults and the minting cap for Identified Node Operators has been extended.

The initial Lido V3 rollout is complete ✅

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— Lido (@LidoFinance) March 2, 2026

stETH is the token that users who have staked Ethereum via Lido receive. It accrues staking rewards from the Ethereum network and can be used on DeFi platforms while the staked Ethereum remains locked. stVaults Lido’s new staking vault model, introduced in V3. It lets node operators run individual vaults with their own reserves and minting limits, rather than a single large pooled staking system. Under the latest protocol version, even unidentified node operators can mint stETH from their stVaults. However, they must maintain a reserve ratio of at least 50%, constraining minting capacity to allow the network to absorb losses and maintain control over liquidity risk. Additionally, the maximum amount of tokens they can mint has been set at 5,000 stETH (around $10 million) per vault in the Default Tier, which contains the unidentified nodes in v3. In comparison, the lowest tier for identified node operators has a reserve ratio of 5% and the minting limit is set at 47,500 stETH. These higher limits are meant to incentivize node operators to become identified. Lido’s V3 Offers More Choice for Node Operators V3 also comes with four new tiers for identified node operators with higher minting limits, “allowing for more granular configuration based on the assigned category.” At the basic level, the lowest tier comes with a 47,500 stETH limit, while the highest has a 20% reserve ratio and a 320,000 stETH minting limit. The other new tiers are the stVault Professional Operator, the stVault Professional Trusted Operator and the DVT Cluster. While node operators can request to be placed in any category, the stVault Professional Trusted Operator category is reserved for those with a three-month record of successful validation and can prove to have “a significant amount of prospective funds to be acquired.”

Image courtesy of Lido Finance.

Lido further announced that all vaults run by identified node operators with at least 250 ETH will incur a 0% fee until March 31. It added that it could consider an extension depending on the length of the entry queue. Lido continues to dominate the Ethereum staking sector, as CNF has previously reported. According to Dune Analytics, it holds 8.675 million staked ETH, accounting for a 23% market share, the highest in the industry.