What are the key risks?
1. You could lose all the money you invest- The performance of most cryptoassets can be highly volatile, with their value dropping as quickly as it can rise. You should be prepared to lose all the money you invest in cryptoassets. This is an altcoin and these tend to be even more volatile than Bitcoin.
- The cryptoasset market is largely unregulated. There is a risk of losing money or any cryptoassets you purchase due to risks such as cyber-attacks, financial crime and firm failure.
- The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) doesn't protect this type of investment because it's not a 'specified investment' under the UK regulatory regime – in other words, this type of investment isn't recognised as the sort of investment that the FSCS can protect. Learn more by using the FSCS investment protection checker.
- The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) will not be able to consider complaints related to this firm or Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.
- There is no guarantee that investments in cryptoassets can be easily sold at any given time. The ability to sell a cryptoasset depends on various factors, including the supply and demand in the market at that time.
- Operational failings such as technology outages, cyber-attacks and comingling of funds could cause unwanted delay and you may be unable to sell your cryptoassets at the time you want.
- Investments in cryptoassets can be complex, making it difficult to understand the risks associated with the investment.
- You should do your own research before investing. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
- Putting all your money into a single type of investment is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.
- A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments.
Where to buy Lido Staked SOL in the UK
It looks like STSOL may not be available to purchase on an exchange in the UK.
You can still purchase STSOL by using a decentralised exchange (DEX) instead. Decentralised exchanges are web applications that run on blockchains like Solana and allow users to trade any asset directly with one another.
Decentralised exchanges (DEX) are unregulated and run using autonomous pieces of code known as smart contracts. To use a DEX you must interact with the blockchain directly, which is not recommended for novice users. Please learn about decentralised exchanges first if you're unfamiliar.
How to purchase STSOL using a decentralised exchange.
- Find STSOL on a decentralised exchange and make sure Lido Staked SOL can be traded for SOL which is the native asset of the Solana blockchain. Popular DEXs include Raydium, Marinade Finance and Saber.
- Buy SOL to trade for STSOL using an exchange like GlobalBlock. You will need to purchase enough SOL to swap for STSOL as well as SOL to pay for transaction fees on the Solana network (known as gas). Gas fees only cost a fraction of a cent on Solana, so keeping 0.01 SOL set aside for gas will be plenty.
- Transfer the SOL into a Solana web 3.0 wallet like like Phantom to connect to the DEX.
- Trade SOL for STSOL on the DEX of your choice, following the instructions on screen. Make sure to leave a small amount of SOL in your wallet to pay for gas.
- Wait for the transaction to finalise and the STSOL tokens will arrive in your wallet.
- You may now keep the tokens in your web 3.0 wallet or transfer them somewhere more secure like a hardware wallet.
You can follow the same process when you want to sell your tokens, or come back to this page to see if they can now be traded on an exchange in the UK.
Best Lido Staked SOL wallets to store your STSOL
You can keep your STSOL on the exchange you purchased it on, or move it to a personal wallet:
- Some people like to use their own wallets to guarantee total ownership over their assets, or to use them with other applications like DeFi services.
- Hardware wallets are typically considered to be the safest type of cryptocurrency wallet, as they use a physical device to enhance security in a number of ways. You can take a look at some of our top hardware wallet picks for self-custody of your STSOL below.
Is Lido Staked SOL a good investment?
Cryptocurrencies are highly speculative assets that come with a range of risks. Those that are considering stSOL as an investment should consider the following factors:
- Governance: The Lido protocol is governed by the Lido DAO, which dictates which validators Lido pool funds are delegated to. While funds are spread across several validators and are backed by a multi-signature mechanism to reduce custody risk, ultimately, all funds are still the responsibility of the Lido DAO. The Lido DAO is composed of Lido DAO token, or LDO, token holders - the native governance token of Lido.
- Security: The smart contracts implemented on the Lido application have been audited by security firms including Neodyme and Bramah. While an audit does not guarantee complete security, the completion of two security audits could be a comfort for potential investors.
- Lido fee:The Lido protocol charges a 10% fee for all staking rewards collected. This is distributed between node operators, Lido and Solana developers, and the Lido treasury.
- Slashing risk: Slashing is an inherent risk when staking SOL coins within the Solana blockchain. Slashing occurs when validators no longer support the security and integrity of the blockchain. While the Lido DAO carefully manages and diversifies funds among several Solana validators, the risk of the SOL pool being reduced due to slashing is still present.
- Liquidity mining incentive: stSOL tokens allow users to amplify staking rewards. Instead of locking SOL coins into the Solana blockchain to earn rewards, users of Lido can enjoy rewards from staking SOL, while also enjoying rewards from liquidity mining on decentralised exchanges (DEXs). Lido also offers rewards in the form of wLDO tokens, Lido’s wrapped governance token that has been transferred from the Ethereum blockchain to Solana. wLDO is often distributed to stSOL liquidity providers.
- stSOL to SOL ratio: As a liquidity provider token, 1 stSOL token should always hold a value that is equal to the price of 1 SOL coin. stSOL tokens then accrue rewards which are finally used to recover the original stake. However, when unstaking SOL tokens there is often a short delay. For those that need to sell SOL tokens quickly, this may lead some users to sell stSOL tokens below the true underlying value.
Today's Lido Staked SOL price versus ATH
Compare today's price of Lido Staked SOL ($26.12 USD) against its all-time-high price of $263.24 USD on 07 November 2021. The closer the bar is to 100%, the closer STSOL is to reaching its ATH again.
ATH date: November 07, 2021
Lido Staked SOL ATH: $263.24
How to trade, convert or sell Lido Staked SOL
You can convert or sell your STSOL with the same exchange you bought it through:- Sign in to the exchange you have STSOL on.
- If you store your Lido Staked SOL in a digital wallet, compare crypto exchanges to convert or sell it on.
- Choose Sell or Convert and place a sell order.
- Choose the amount of STSOL you'd like to convert or sell.
- Confirm the sell price and fees and close your sale of Lido Staked SOL.
- Complete your transaction and move your STSOL to a wallet for storage.
* Cryptocurrencies aren't regulated in the UK and there's no protection from the Financial Ombudsman or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Your capital is at risk. Capital gains tax on profits may apply.
Cryptocurrencies are speculative and investing in them involves significant risks - they're highly volatile, vulnerable to hacking and sensitive to secondary activity. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. This content shouldn't be interpreted as a recommendation to invest. Before you invest, you should get advice and decide whether the potential return outweighs the risks. Finder, or the author, may have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.
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