Empowering Lido Ecosystem Foundation to Lead Bridge-Related Partnerships

Proposals
1

TL;DR

This proposal seeks DAO authorization for the Lido Ecosystem Foundation (“Lido Ecosystem”) to lead all bridge-related strategic partnerships and negotiations involving stETH and wstETH, in order to unlock opportunities to improve competitiveness and resilience of the Lido protocol in an evolving market landscape.

Key Highlights

  • Lido Ecosystem will be empowered to negotiate and execute strategic agreements with bridge counterparties on behalf of the DAO.

  • Being a part of the Lido Ecosystem, the Network Expansion Committee (NEC) will serve as a subject matter expert, providing expertise and best practices for bridge counterparties and the DAO.

  • NEC membership composition will be rotated to ensure better alignment with its objectives.

  • A Bridging Security Committee (”BSC”) will be established under Lido Labs Foundation (“Lido Labs”) and nominated to pause and block partnerships if they pose serious unresolved risks and escalate such cases to the DAO for review.

  • With BSC safeguarding the process, the previously approved flow for canonical bridge recognition changes: a 5-day DAO objection period will no longer be provided upon publication of the decision by NEC.

  • Lido DAO retains the ultimate authority to cancel, amend, or override any strategic agreement executed by Lido Ecosystem.

Background

Following the Lido Ecosystem establishment, NEC activities have been placed under its oversight, with NEC continuing support the timely execution of network expansion efforts and prevent missed market opportunities. Since November 2024, the NEC has successfully guided the expansion of wstETH to 4 new networks and induced 10k wstETH bridged across Soneium, Unichain, Lisk, and Swellchain within one year (with an all-time high of 38k ETH bridged on April 25, 2025; Dune). These results highlight the ability to capture opportunities through NEC under the current Lido Ecosystem oversight.

However, bridges have become more than technical infrastructure. Conversations with partners over the past year show that bridge setups carry consequences beyond execution: they define how tokens enter ecosystems, influence partner confidence, and concentrate both opportunities and risks, and thus for the accelerated adoption and success if wstETH, a more nimble setup should be considered. Opportunities have been identified to create better conditions for wstETH users and increase the competitiveness of the Lido protocol through tighter integration of bridging infrastructure with (w)stETH. This can be enabled by extending the scope of authority of Lido Ecosystem to negotiate and support the execution of bridge-related agreements.

Lido Ecosystem was founded to develop and manage relationships with institutions, projects and DAOs, and to promote the expansion and use of (w)stETH across blockchains and other projects. Expanding its scope to cover bridge partnerships would ensure these goals are fully realized, while NEC continues to focus on operational excellence.

Proposal

This initiative proposes that the DAO empowers Lido Ecosystem to lead all bridge-related strategic partnerships and negotiations involving (w)stETH, while maintaining institutional grade confidence in wstETH bridging:

Roles & Responsibilities

  • Lido Ecosystem

    • Leads all strategic negotiations and agreements on bridge-related partnerships.

    • Executes agreements subject to legal, technical, and risk review.

    • Provides accountability through existing mechanisms (DAO-appointed directors, Emergency Supervisor oversight, transparent reporting).

  • NEC

    • Provides technical due diligence (escalate to GRAPPA when necessary), feasibility assessments, and subject matter expertise to Lido Ecosystem during partnership negotiations.

    • Does not negotiate contractual provisions but supports Lido Ecosystem with bridging-specific knowledge.

  • Bridging Security Committee (within the Lido Labs Foundation)

    • May be granted visibility into partnership details (including confidential information).

    • Ensures every new technical setup includes a DAO-level override and is fully reversible.

    • Empowered to veto any proposed / on-pipeline partnership deemed materially risky.

    • Authorized to escalate such cases to the DAO when a critical risk is identified and remains unresolved.

    • Authority is limited to bridging and (w)stETH-related initiatives.

Bridging Security Committee

With the Lido Ecosystem’s extended role in decision-making, a Bridging Security Committee (BSC) is proposed to be established to act as a counterbalance and a safeguard on behalf of the DAO, ensuring that bridge-related agreements protect the long-term integrity of the protocol. The committee is proposed to be established within the Lido Labs Foundation and operate independently from the Lido Ecosystem.

With the trust and expertise established, the following contributors are nominated to be the first members of the BSC:

Network Expansion Process Adjustment

  • Lido Ecosystem will lead the negotiation, agreement, and execution, with NEC providing technical, operational, and advisory.

  • BSC is required to provide explicit approval before any agreement to proceed. Lido Ecosystem is advised to keep BSC updated on any risk assessment info throughout the development, including but not limited to the full extent of the negotiation process and communications with the relevant counterparty(ies), including any risk assessments or analysis conducted on the partnership. Following the decision to proceed with execution, the signing of any agreement will be deferred for a period of five business days to allow BSC to review and evaluate the agreement.

  • BSC may exercise its rights to pause or stop the negotiation if a critical risk is identified. When pausing an ongoing negotiation:

    • Lido Ecosystem must provide a resolution plan (either internally or with counterparties).

    • Negotiations may only resume if the BSC is satisfied that the risk is addressed.

  • If critical risks remain unresolved while the agreement is being advanced, BSC may escalate the matter to the DAO to safeguard Lido DAO and the protocol. In this case, the DAO should vote on whether to stop the agreement. If the DAO supports a stop, the agreement is terminated, and any related technical deployment will be rolled back.

  • Once the BSC grants approval, the NEC will publish an announcement on the Research Forum on canonical bridge recognition. The original 5-day DAO objection period will no longer apply. However, should the DAO disagree with the NEC’s decision, it has the authority to initiate a Snapshot vote to dispute it.

These safeguards are emergency powers: while necessary to protect Lido DAO, their use carries trade-offs — including reputational impact, disclosure of confidential information, and strained counterpart relationships.

NEC Committee Rotation

NEC membership composition will be rotated to ensure better alignment with its objectives:

Next Steps

  • DAO discussion period to gather feedback.

  • Have a Snapshot vote to formally empower Lido Ecosystem for bridge-related partnerships.

  • Upon approval:

    • Lido Ecosystem assumes leadership of all negotiations in this domain.

    • NEC composition rotates, and it engages as a subject matter expert when requested by Lido Ecosystem.

    • Bridging Security Committee is established within Lido Labs to provide veto and escalation safeguards.

11 Likes
2

In general, makes sense to me. Are there any added risks due to this change you foresee and can share? How are they mitigated?

3 Likes
3

Sure, let me elaborate.

The following key risks have been identified for this proposal, along with the safeguards currently in place to mitigate them:

  • Security & Technical Risks

    • Bridging has the lowest risk tolerance because exploits or design flaws could result in major loss of wstETH or reputational damage. To mitigate this, NEC contributes technical due diligence, while the BSC provides safeguards alongside the Lido Ecosystem during partnerships and negotiations. These mechanisms aim to identify and resolve risks before agreements advance. In addition, the BSC has the authority to enforce an emergency pause, even after an agreement has been executed.

  • Governance Centralization Risks

    • Granting negotiation authority to the Lido Ecosystem could be perceived as concentrating power and weakening DAO decentralization. This risk is structurally mitigated by:

      i) the DAO retaining sovereignty over the Lido Ecosystem,

      ii) NEC being limited to an advisory subject-matter expert role, and

      iii) the BSC providing ongoing monitoring and balance.

  • Legal & Counterparty Risks

    • Lido Ecosystem entering contracts introduces potential legal liabilities or unfavorable terms that might indirectly impact the DAO. This risk is mitigated by ensuring that agreements are only finalized after the necessary legal, technical, and risk reviews. Further safeguards include mandatory reversibility clauses to protect DAO sovereignty and BSC oversight to veto unsafe arrangements.

  • Operational Risks

    • Removing the previous 5-day DAO objection period (from bridge recognition) could raise concerns about reduced oversight. This is mitigated procedurally by granting the BSC active veto power, while the DAO retains authority to initiate a vote to dispute decisions.

If readers identify additional risks not covered here, you are encouraged to share your thoughts and/or concerns here.

9 Likes
4

As an NEC Committee member, I support this proposal and my rotation, as I’m fully focused on the stVaults launch

7 Likes
5

As an NEC Committee member, I’m also in favor of this proposal and my rotation.

5 Likes
6

Supportive of this proposal as a whole and happy to get rotated out from the NEC.

5 Likes
7

Supportive this proposal and I’d be happy to be included as the NEC member from Product side.

6 Likes
8

Will be honored to join the Bridging Security Committee contingent the course of action approval by the Lido DAO.

5 Likes
9

I’m in favor of this proposal and would be honored to take part in the Bridging Security Committee once it’s approved by the Lido DAO.

5 Likes
10

Guys, thank you for your work on this proposal! I support it and am ready to be included in the NEC from the QA department.

6 Likes
11

I support this proposal and would be honored to serve on the Bridging Security Committee pending approval from Lido DAO.

4 Likes
12

Hi! I support the proposal and ready to accept the tech part participation!

4 Likes
13

I’m fully supportive of this proposal and ready to take on the role within the Bridging Security Committee, helping uphold the DAO’s security standards

3 Likes
14

Snapshot vote started

Please get your wallets ready to cast a vote :white_check_mark:, the Empowering Lido Ecosystem Foundation to Lead Bridge-Related Partnerships Snapshot has started! The Snapshots ends on Wed, 22 Oct 2025 16:00:00 GMT.

15

We are strongly in support of empowering the Lido Ecosystem Foundation to lead bridge-related partnerships, as it streamlines decision-making while preserving DAO sovereignty. The current NEC model has demonstrated its capacity (e.g. expanding wstETH to multiple networks and bridging tens of thousands of ETH in the past year), but to compete in evolving cross-chain markets, Lido needs a more agile negotiation posture. The proposed structure, is a pretty good balance between speed and oversight.

The concerns re governance centralization, legal exposure, and removal of the 5-day objection window are valid; here’s our thoughts. The proposal preserves ultimate DAO authority (override, cancel, amend), embedding reversibility clauses in agreements, and requiring legal and risk review before execution. Our take is that these safeguards go a long way to protect against abuses. Moreover, NEC members themselves have signaled support for rotation and lighter roles.

Given the speed demands and competition in bridging infrastructure, we are very much in support. Granting this mandate helps reduce friction in executing partnerships, enables more responsive opportunity capture, and concentrates institutional negotiation strength in the team with the deepest relational footing.

1 Like
16

Snapshot vote ended

The Empowering Lido Ecosystem Foundation to Lead Bridge-Related Partnerships Snapshot has reached a quorum and completed successfully!
The results are:
For: 55.5M LDO
Against: 86 LDO

:white_check_mark: Winning option: For

1 Like