What did Lido say about Ether treasury strategies versus ETFs?

Lido’s institutional head Kean Gilbert said Ether treasury companies may need liquid staking and active strategies to outperform staked ETH ETFs. Passive ETF yields alone may not be enough to attract investors. The idea is to generate higher returns through more complex deployment of ETH.

What is liquid staking and why does it matter for ETH investors?

Liquid staking allows investors to stake Ether (ETH) while receiving a tradable token they can use in DeFi. This means users can earn staking rewards while still deploying capital elsewhere. It increases capital efficiency compared to traditional staking.

How do Ether treasury companies differ from ETH ETFs?

Ether ETFs are passive products that typically earn yield from staking alone. Treasury companies, by contrast, can actively manage ETH holdings through strategies like lending or trading. This gives them more flexibility but also introduces more risk.

What kind of returns are ETH staking products currently offering?

Staked ETH products are generating yields in the low single digits. Grayscale’s products show around 2.26% to 2.56%, while native ETH staking yields about 2.72% annually. These relatively modest returns are pushing firms to explore higher-yield strategies.

Why might liquid staking help treasury companies outperform ETFs?

Liquid staking enables treasury firms to use ETH as collateral and borrow against it or deploy it in DeFi. This can create additional yield streams beyond basic staking rewards. However, these strategies are more complex and carry added risk.

Do Ether treasury companies need to beat ETF yields to stay competitive?

Not necessarily, according to Axis co-founder Jimmy Xue. Treasury firms can justify their value through active management and dynamic capital allocation. Investors may accept lower or similar yields if they believe management can generate upside over time.

What is an mNAV premium and why does it matter?

An mNAV premium means a company’s market value exceeds the value of its underlying assets. For Ether treasury firms, this reflects investor confidence in management’s ability to generate returns. It signals expectations of future performance, not just current holdings.

How are companies already using liquid staking in practice?

Sharplink Gaming has generated 14,516 ETH in staking rewards, with 33% coming from liquid staking. BTCS has also liquid staked part of its ETH holdings through Rocket Pool. This shows that hybrid staking strategies are already being deployed.

Lido says Ether treasuries need staking edge

Written by Brie CarterPublished Apr. 8 2026

Ether treasury companies may need to adopt liquid staking and active yield strategies to outperform returns offered by staked Ether exchange-traded funds, according to Lido institutional head Kean Gilbert.

Gilbert said firms must go beyond passive staking rewards if they want to differentiate from a growing range of listed ETH investment products.

Liquid staking allows Ether holders to stake tokens while receiving a tradable asset that can still be deployed across decentralised finance strategies.

Gilbert added that strategies such as using ETH as collateral and borrowing against it could generate higher yields than passive products.

“A staked ETH ETF is a passive vehicle, a DAT trading at a meaningful mNAV premium is promising something a passive ETF structurally cannot deliver, which is active, dynamic deployment of spot inventory across opportunities as they arise,”

Said Axis co-founder Jimmy Xue.

Staked Ether products currently offer relatively modest yields, with Grayscale products generating around 2.26% to 2.56% and native ETH staking yielding about 2.72% annually, making outperformance challenging without added risk.

Public filings show firms such as Sharplink Gaming and BTCS are already using a mix of native and liquid staking strategies, though results vary and exposure to crypto market downturns remains a key risk.

At the time of reporting, Ethereum price was $2,241.26.