Lido stRATEGY (strETH Vault) is a curated DeFi yield vault inside Lido Earn that lets you deposit ETH / WETH / wstETH and receive strETH in return — a yield-bearing token that increases in value over time as rewards are auto-compounded. Launched on November 6, 2025, the strategy is built on Mellow’s Core Vault infrastructure and routes capital across major DeFi protocols like Aave (lending/looping), Ethena (sUSDe yield legs), and Uniswap (concentrated liquidity), so users get diversified exposure without managing multiple positions manually. Current APY sits around ~3.7% (7-day average, May 2026). Note: stETH cannot be deposited directly — you’ll need to wrap it to wstETH first via stake.lido.fi/wrap.
Operationally, deposits typically take ~24 hours, while withdrawals can take up to ~72 hours under normal conditions and are always paid out in wstETH (not the originally deposited asset), making it less “instant” than simple liquid staking but more structured for yield optimization. Withdrawal requests cannot be cancelled once submitted.
Fees are taken from generated yield and reflected in the strETH price (token balance never decreases): a 10% performance fee (Mellow) plus a 1% annual platform fee (Lido, prorated). On top of base yield, strETH holders accrue Mellow Points at 0.00025 per $1 of value per hour — claimable in the future and potentially convertible at Mellow’s TGE.
Important context: in March 2026, Lido announced the consolidation of its Earn product line into two new flagship meta-vaults — EarnETH (~3.3% target APY) and EarnUSD (~5.1% target APY). EarnETH currently allocates across stRATEGY and GGV under the hood, so stRATEGY remains accessible directly for users who want concentrated exposure, while EarnETH is the recommended “set-and-forget” entry point. The vault has also paused deposits during high-demand periods (e.g., the March 2026 Mellow TVL surge from $180M to $300M+) — check current capacity in the Lido UI before depositing.
For full transparency, you can track the vault’s live allocations and positions via DeBank here: https://debank.com/bundles/218444/portfolio
- Structured ETH carry with active allocation: strETH targets a diversified yield mix across Aave-style lending, Ethena-style yield legs, and Uniswap LP deployments—useful if you want one tokenized position instead of running multiple books.
- Mark-to-market receipt token: strETH is value-accruing (non-rebasing style), which is cleaner for DeFi composability, accounting, and collateral use where supported (notably as a Pendle LP base asset).
- Transparent live positioning: allocations can be audited on-chain via DeBank, reducing “black box” vault risk and enabling exposure monitoring in real time.
- Risk routing as a service: Mellow curator can rotate exposure as rates/incentives change within pre-defined onchain controls, which is hard to replicate efficiently for most DIY stakers.
- Mellow Points kicker: potential future token rewards on top of base APY at 0.00025 points per $1 per hour — adds upside beyond the headline yield.
- Fee stack hits net carry: combined 10% Mellow performance fee + 1% Lido AUM fee can materially compress returns in low-vol / low-rate regimes — at the current ~3.7% APY, the alpha versus plain stETH staking (~2.6%) is modest after fees.
- Exit timing friction: ~24h deposit and up to ~72h withdrawal processing, with no cancellation once requested — meaningful for hedging, basis trades, or fast tactical moves.
- Capacity caps and pauses: the vault has previously paused new deposits during high-demand periods (March 2026 TVL surge), so available capacity is not guaranteed when you want in.
- Compounded dependency surface: vault layer + Aave/Ethena/Uniswap legs stack oracle, liquidation, LP, and smart-contract tail risks vs plain LST carry.
- Strategy drift / curator discretion: venue mix and risk posture can change over time without an explicit trade, so you must monitor exposure rather than assume static behavior.
- Lido Earn consolidation overhang: with EarnETH positioned as the new flagship meta-vault, stRATEGY’s long-term standalone availability and incentive priority may shift over time.
- Withdrawal payout in wstETH only: if you deposited ETH or WETH, you’ll need an additional unwrap step to return to native ETH.
