Lido DAO Votes to Sunset the Lido on Solana Project

The Lido on Solana project will wind down following the inability of the P2P team to sustain the project due to financial constraints.

According to the team, the sunsetting of the project will happen over the coming months, with stSOL token holders given until February 2024 to unstake through the Lido on the Solana frontend.

Lido Discontinues Liquid Staking on Solana

The decision for Lido to cease its liquid staking solution on the Solana blockchain comes after an “extensive DAO discussion and community vote,” according to an announcement on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023.

Based on results from a snapshot, over 92% of Lido token holders voted in support of sunsetting the Lido on Solana protocol, while just over 7% voted to provide funding to the project.

P2P validator, the team behind the development of Lido on Solana, previously proposed two scenarios to community members – fund the project with $1.5 million to sustain operations or exit the Solana blockchain.

Yuri Mediakov of P2P, who put forth the proposals, listed project and business developments, along with profit and losses. Mediakov said the team invested about $700,000 into development and support but got a revenue of $220,000, thereby making a loss of $484,000.

The proposal, meanwhile, stated at the time that if the community voted for the sunsetting option, the team would need $20,000 monthly in support from the Lido DAO for technical maintenance for five months, beginning from Sept. 4, 2023.

An excerpt from the latest announcement reads:

“After much discussion and a vote by Lido DAO members, it was decided that the best course of action would be to wind down Lido on Solana. Whilst this decision was difficult in the face of numerous strong relationships across the Solana ecosystem, it was deemed a necessity for the continued success of the broader Lido protocol ecosystem.”

SOL Staking Stops With Immediate Effect

The sunsetting process will happen in phases, with staking on Solana discontinued with immediate effect, while node operators can begin voluntary off-boarding from Nov. 17, 2023.

Also, stSOL token holders will continue to receive rewards throughout the winding down process, but unstaking via the Lido on the Solana frontend will stop by Feb. 4, 2024. Holders who miss the deadline will have to unstake through the Command Line Interface (CLI).

“The journey with Lido on Solana protocol has been momentous, filled with challenges overcome and milestones celebrated. While this marks the end of this particular chapter, the optimism of Lido contributors for the future of Solana remains undiminished.”

In addition to its exit from the Solana blockchain, Lido also previously wound down liquid staking operations on Kusama and Polkadot.