# Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs)

On September 15th, 2022, the Ethereum network switched from a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS). This means that to validate on the network, one needs to stake Ethereum. To stake, a user must deposit 32 ETH to become a validator and have the infrastructure to create new transaction blocks on the Ethereum blockchain when called upon.\
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For those who may not have 32 ETH or are uncomfortable running validator infrastructures, pooled staking as a service is an option via LSTs. Pooled staking allows for users to deposit less than 32 ETH to a third-party service like Lido that stakes ETH in 32 ETH blocks and runs the infrastructure nodes. In exchange for someone using their service, a **Liquid Staking Token (LST)** is typically allocated/given to the stakers. When the validator receives block rewards, the rewards are distributed proportionately to the holders of the LSTs. LSTs accrue rewards in two different ways:

* **Rebasing LSTs** - With these LSTs, the **amount** of your holdings goes up over time, but the **value** remains pegged to ETHs value. 
* **Non-Rebasing LSTs** - With these LSTs, the **amount** of your holdings never changes, but the **value** as denominated in ETH increases over time. 

A Rebasing LST can be turned into a Non-Rebasing LST via "wrapping".  For Lido, the stETH is the symbol for the rebasing LST and wstETH is the symbol for the wrapped Non-Rebasing version of stETH.\
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The benefit of LSTs include participating in the upside of Ethereum while also getting a constant flow of block rewards.\
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**Popular Liquid Staking Products Include:**\
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[Lido ](https://lido.fi/ethereum)\
[Rocket Pool ](https://rocketpool.net/)\
[Binance Staked ETH](https://www.binance.com/en/ethereum-staking)\
[Coinbase ETH](https://www.coinbase.com/price/coinbase-wrapped-staked-eth)\
and more...

[More on Ethereum Staking and Pooled Staking](https://ethereum.org/en/staking/pools/)\
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\&#xNAN;*LSTs are third-party products that carry their own risks, such as a slashing risk where the LST can be penalized for processing their blocks incorrectly or not rapidly enough.* <br>


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