Lido rolls out Curated Module v2 with native 0x02 validator support

Curated Module v2 goes live

According to Lido, the Curated Module has anchored its validator set since 2020 and, as of July 2026, secures around 90% of all staked ETH in Lido Core. The new version is being introduced in two stages. The first phase is now live and includes native support for 0x02 validators, a new operator classification system, bond-based security and penalty mechanisms, and governance changes intended to reduce routine administrative friction. A second phase is planned to add flexible stake distribution, custom fees, and a strike system.

The headline technical change is support for 0x02 withdrawal credentials inside Lido’s largest staking module. Lido said Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade made 0x02 credentials and validator consolidations possible, allowing the maximum effective balance per validator to rise from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH. With Curated Module v2, more than 265,000 existing validators in the module can move from legacy 0x01 credentials to 0x02 through consolidations.

Potential impact on Ethereum validator count

Lido said that migration of those validators would almost double the share of ETH secured by compounding validators, increasing that share from 32.06% to 52.21%. The protocol also estimated that the process could reduce the total number of validators on Ethereum by roughly one third, from about 880,000 at the time of writing to around 628,000 after consolidations.

If that happens, Lido expects lower network congestion and less consensus-layer overhead. It said the number of attestation messages across the network should fall by about 29% each epoch once the migration is complete. The company framed the change as part of aligning Lido Core more closely with Ethereum’s roadmap.

New incentives and governance changes

Curated Module v2 also introduces a formal operator classification framework. Lido divides operators into decentralization operators, extra effort operators, and public good operators. The categories are meant to reflect differences in geographic and infrastructure diversity, additional service contributions to the protocol, and work on Ethereum consensus- and execution-layer client software.

Lido said this structure builds on a long-running approach inside the DAO. Seven client teams were onboarded as Curated Node Operators and, as of July 1, 2026, had collectively received 8,710 stETH, which Lido valued at about $21 million, in cumulative rewards for operating validators for Lido stakers.

Another major change is the move from a trust-based model toward one that includes ETH-backed bonds and a penalty framework. Lido said the new design is intended to cover cases including underperformance, downtime, slashing, or execution-layer rewards violations. At the same time, routine updates that previously required on-chain votes, such as address changes, can now be handled with less DAO overhead, while the DAO retains control over operator set composition and the ability to override or veto changes.

Changes to permissionless and DVT modules

Alongside Curated Module v2, Lido is upgrading its Community Staking Module to v3. The protocol said the permissionless module now secures more than 770,000 staked ETH across an estimated 335 active operators, equal to roughly 8.5% of Lido TVL and 1.9% of total network stake. The new version adds an Identified DVT Cluster operator type, or IDVTC, for independent community stakers using Obol or SSV. Lido said this path comes with bond requirements of 1.5 to 0.5 ETH per key and estimated capital efficiency of up to 3.1x compared with solo staking.

CSM v3 also adds native reward splitting across multiple addresses and shifts governance for the permissionless staking share limit from Aragon to Easy Track to allow faster adjustments.

Lido is also winding down the 72 regular clusters in its Simple DVT Module following a Snapshot vote. The protocol said those clusters had helped expand the number of participating node operators in Lido Core by more than 300. Operators from the wound-down clusters can continue through the Community Staking Module via the default permissionless route, Identified Community Staker status, or new IDVTC clusters. Super Clusters are not affected and will continue until their previously approved wind-down date.

Lido said stake migration from the legacy Curated Module will begin soon, but warned that the process will take time because Ethereum’s activation queue is currently more than 40 days long. The old Curated Module will remain available as a fallback and will be wound down gradually as stake moves to Curated Module v2.