Announcing Strategic Partnership With Chainlink on Adopting CCIP As the Official Default Cross-Chain Infrastructure For wstETH

Proposals Lido Multichain
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Summary

Lido Ecosystem Foundation (”Lido Ecosystem") is partnering with Chainlink to utilise wstETH cross-chain bridging via the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (”CCIP"), using the Cross-Chain Token (”CCT") standard with mint-and-burn to enable teleportable wstETH among networks, secured by lockboxes on Mainnet and across L2 networks (and beyond).

The design prioritizes security and operational cohesion while preserving DAO autonomy and upgradeability across all deployments.

Key Highlights

  • Chainlink is appointed to be the primary bridge provider for stETH and wstETH regarding cross-chain expansions due to CCIP offering institutional-grade cross-chain security.

  • CCT will be the token standard, while lane configuration will be managed via CCIP to leverage the full Chainlink platform.

  • Security will be hardened by adding secondary confirmation for large transfers within a set period. Plus a per-network minting limits will be enforced on new deployments to confine exposure.

  • DAO autonomy is preserved, with bridging endpoints and (w)stETH token contracts transferable back to the DAO via governance at any time.

  • Chainlink will implement and deploy both the bridging endpoints and (w)stETH token contracts under Network Expansion Committee (“NEC”) oversight for quality assurance starting from public testnets for every new network.

  • All new network expansions will be led by Lido Ecosystem, with NEC providing technical advisory support and Bridging Security Committee (“BSC”) providing safeguarding oversight, as approved by the DAO.

Why Chainlink, CCIP, and CCT

Chainlink, the industry-standard oracle platform, has been carefully evaluated as a partner,

  • Security & first-mover leverage

    • Proven infrastructure and partner footprint, with the Chainlink platform already securing $95B+ in DeFi TV (as of 27 Oct).

    • Robust security provided through decentralized oracle network (DON) architecture that has enabled $26 trillion in transaction value.

    • Growth partner to support wstETH adoption and distribution

    • Faster enablement on emerging EVMs and any chains supporting CCIP.

    • CCIP can unlock institutional settlement paths for stETH.

    • Joint efforts and strategic collaboration between Lido Ecosystem and Chainlink on ecosystem growth.

  • Cohesive UX & lighter lift

    • CCT is natively supported within CCIP.

    • Lane configuration, including mintable limits and secondary confirmation, will be handled directly in CCIP with Chainlink direct support and (decision) gated by DAO (e.g. via timelocks with cancellation mechanisms).

      • The experience could be further streamlined later, dependent on DAO governance voting approval to take back ownership of bridging end points.

    • With its expertise, Chainlink will lead on implementation and create room for Lido contributors to focus on staking infrastructure and quality assurance.

Partnership Scope

  • Chainlink will be Lido Ecosystem’s primary bridging partner, responsible for maintaining and expanding the bridge infrastructure, including:

    • Deploying and maintaining new bridges to networks that do not yet have wstETH.

    • Upgrading and maintaining bridges to networks where wstETH is already deployed.

  • Under NEC oversight for quality assurance, Chainlink will be responsible for implementation, configuration and deployment for the bridges and governance forwarder (governance forwarders should use message passing based on the networks’ native bridges or 3rd-party bridge providers always with a quorum-based rule).

  • Network expansion will be accompanied by joint GTM strategies.

  • This partnership follows the updated bridge governance process: bridge recognition is led by Lido Ecosystem, with NEC advising and BSC overseeing safeguarding.

  • Bridging endpoints and token contracts deployed by Chainlink must be transferrable back to DAO upon governance vote, as obligated by the Bridge Security Committee.

  • For future rotation, if the DAO decides to rotate out Chainlink for a different bridge provider (or none), this can be executed via a DAO vote, which is enabled by the current agreement.

Next Steps

  • Chainlink will provide a deployment plan for new networks expansion per Lido Ecosystem needs, including upfront public testnet deployments for interim reviews. NEC recognition announcement will follow afterwards.

  • Prepare wstETH upgrade plan with Lido Ecosystem & NEC in 2026.

Appendix - Risk to DAO & Mitigation

  • Technical Risk
    Bridges have the lowest risk tolerance: exploits or design flaws could cause material wstETH loss or reputational damage. Under the Chainlink partnership:

    • A Chainlink-led implementation will be adopted with Lido Ecosystem QA; deployment and recognition will remain under NEC oversight. Audits will be mandatory for non-standard CCIP deployment.

    • An initial mintable cap will be introduced for each new chain to limit exposure.

    • A secondary bridge confirmation from a different provider will be required for large transaction volume (cumulative over a defined time window) before lifting caps.

  • Operational Risk
    Incident response will be strengthened by:

    • Introduce a contract-level emergency pause function that allows pausing of all or selected bridge operations (e.g., minting/burning/bridging) to isolate a particular chain until the incident is resolved.

    • Contractual commitments from Chainlink to provide timely support to the Lido Ecosystem during incidents.

  • Governance Risk
    DAO autonomy is preserved:

    • Deployed contracts are transferable back to the DAO via governance vote, enforced both in code (governance forwarders) and in the partnership agreement.

    • Bridges configuration remains under the decision by DAO governance (being delegated to Chainlink for the operational efficiency with a mechanism to revoke such delegation), with the upgrade possibility preserved.

    • Bridge provider rotation remains under the decision by DAO governance.

  • Strategic Risk
    A primary-provider model increases dependency. While the partnership is considered net beneficial, long-term optionality is essential:

    • The agreement enables the DAO to rotate out Chainlink via governance vote if the interoperability landscape changes - avoiding lifetime lock-in.

As a disclaimer, the risks and the measures listed above reflect a best-efforts assessment as of publication. Additional scenarios may exist beyond those identified here.

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