Ethereum’s [$ETH] leading staking platform, Lido, has proposed a ‘one-off’ plan to buy back about 8.5% of the $LDOcirculating supply.

The proposal calls for funding the buyback with 10,000 stETH from the Lido DAO Treasury. At current prices of $2,000–$2,100 per stETH, this equates to roughly $20–$21 million.

where to buy steth - Lido plans 8.5% LDO supply buyback to fix ‘price dislocation’ – Details

Since it’s a one-off plan, if approved, that would buy 70 million $LDOtokens, or about 8.5% of the circulating supply.

where to buy steth - Lido plans 8.5% LDO supply buyback to fix ‘price dislocation’ – Details

Why Lido is bullish on its token

On the reason behind the move, the protocol said,

$LDOis trading at historically depressed levels relative to $ETH, a 70% discount that characterized most of the prior two years.

It cited the $LDO/$ETHratio, which tracks $LDOprice performance relative to $ETH. The ratio has marked a new low in 2026, meaning that $LDOhas continued to underperform $ETHin a two-year streak.

The protocol added,

This is not a routine fluctuation. It represents one of the most significant dislocations between $LDO’s market price and its underlying protocol fundamentals in the token’s history.

According to Lido, its staking dominanceand improved operations in the past two years don’t reflect $LDO’s performance over the same period. The altcoin has plunged 97% from its 2024 high of $3.7 to its current low of $0.30.

If approved, the buyback will happen in 1K stETH batches across liquid venues (Cow Swap, 1inch, Uniswap, Binance, etc.) to avoid slippages.

However, this is a separate proposal from the automatic annual $10 million long-term planfor $LDObuybacks, which was floated last year. The long-term draft, set to be formalized in Q2 2026, aims to activate $LDObuyback using half of the extra protocol revenue above $40M, and if $ETHtrades above $3000.

Collectively, these plans suggested the DeFi platform was bullish on its native token. But the altcoin’s rebound would need more conviction from whales.

Since the October crash, whale wallets holding 10–100 million and 100 million–1 billion $LDOhave offloaded nearly 80 million tokens. Unless they regain confidence in the altcoin, its decline could continue.

Final Summary

  • Lido has plans to deploy 10K stETH to drive the $LDObuyback program.
  • Whales’ conviction in the altcoin has declined, with nearly 80 million $LDOoffloaded in the past few months.