Empowering Lido Ecosystem Foundation to Lead Bridge-Related Partnerships

Description

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.

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 (w)stETH 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)
  • 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:

• @TheDZhon, @tamtamchik, @psirex (Tech)
• @zuzu_eeka (DAO Ops)

Network Expansion Process Adjustment

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

• @kovalgek → @arwer13 (Tech)
• @EvgeniyEmelyanov → @Mariya_Muzyko (Product)
• @DeFiYaco → @vtrush (ProRel → QA)
• @nikita.p will remain without a change (DAO Ops)

Next Steps

• If the DAO supports this proposal:
  • 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 will be established within Lido Labs to provide veto and escalation safeguards.
• If the DAO doesn't support this proposal, as the range of dispute options is extensive, a further discussion will follow to identify which options should be considered and brought to a subsequent vote.