BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A. told clients on October 7, 2026, that eligible US institutional accounts can now stake Ether through Lido without leaving the BitGo custody environment, a first for a US-qualified custodian. Clients deposit ETH, receive Lido's stETH receipt token, and continue managing the position through their existing BitGo account, with no separate counterparty required.

The integration removes a recurring operational hurdle for US institutions: standing up separate workflows or custody relationships to access liquid staking yield. Lido's stETH represents a staked ETH position that remains transferable while the underlying asset secures the Ethereum network, letting institutions earn staking rewards without the traditional lock-up.

Why a US-qualified custodian matters

BitGo holds a national bank trust charter, which puts it in a regulatory class that US pensions, endowments, registered funds, and other regulated pools can typically use without bespoke due diligence. The BitGo-Lido link therefore functions less like a product announcement and more like a distribution channel for Lido among institutions that previously could not, or would not, touch the protocol through their primary custodian.

Kean Gilbert, Head of Institutional Relations at the Lido Ecosystem Foundation, framed the move as supplying the custodial backing institutions need to pursue Lido staking strategies. Nathan Stump, Managing Director at BitGo, emphasized that BitGo is keeping its existing controls in place while letting the service plug into clients' asset management infrastructure rather than forcing a migration.

The size of the two sides

BitGo's custody platform safeguards more than $100 billion in digital assets, of which $48 billion sits in staked positions, according to the firm. Lido controls more than $25 billion in staked ETH, accounting for more than 25% of all staked ETH. That share makes Lido the largest liquid staking protocol by total value, a lead it has held through prior market cycles.

A year of operating history outside the US

The US rollout extends an arrangement that began in July 2025, when BitGo first wired European and Asian clients into Lido's staking service. The roughly fifteen-month gap gave both firms time to refine operational flows before opening the channel to US accounts, where the regulatory environment for staking products has historically been more cautious than in Europe or Asia.

What the integration changes

US institutions that already custody ETH with BitGo gain a direct path to staking yield through the largest liquid staking protocol, without changing custodians or rebuilding their operational stack. For Lido, the regulated US distribution channel may widen its lead against competing staking protocols, since competitors in the custody space now have a benchmark to neutralize. Rival qualified custodians will need to decide whether to match the Lido integration, pursue a different liquid staking token, or build staking natively.

The next test is operational: how quickly BitGo on-boards US clients into the Lido flow, and whether federal or state regulators take a position on stETH-style receipt tokens held under qualified custody during the same window.