Caladan adds stETH a collateral on its institutional platform

Caladan, the institutional trading desk built for capital efficiency, announced on Tuesday, July 29th, that it has added support for stETH as multi-currency collateral for its OTC trading platform

In a press release shared with Cryptowisser, Caladan stated that

This will enable institutional clients to post Ethereum’s leading liquid staking token as collateral for options strategies, hedging positions, and capital rotation.

Caladan’s integration of stETH has been implemented with the support of Lido Institutional. Its introduction bolsters institutional adoption of decentralized finance, expanding how hedge funds, liquid funds, and foundations can strategically deploy stETH within sophisticated capital management. Its addition combines stETH’s deep liquidity and Ethereum staking rewards with the structure and risk frameworks expected by professional investors.

While commenting on this latest development, Julia Zhou, COO of Caladan, stated that,

“This is about unlocking new capital pathways. Instead of forcing institutional players to choose between yield and liquidity, we’re giving them both, as well as strategic optionality.”

According to Caladan, unlike fiat or stablecoin collateral, which often sits idle, stETH continues to generate staking rewards, even when posted against active trading positions. This feature aligns with the protocol’s mission to deliver ecosystem-connected, capital-efficient solutions for institutions operating at the forefront of crypto markets.

Kean Gilbert, Head of Institutional Relations at the Lido Ecosystem Foundation, added that,

“Caladan’s integration shows why institutions are increasingly turning to stETH. They gain access to market-leading liquidity, Ethereum staking rewards, and decentralized infrastructure through the Lido protocol – all key ingredients for strategically deploying ETH holdings.”

Caladan’s integration reflects a broader trend for crypto-native funds, DeFi asset managers, and DAO treasuries to hold stETH via Lido Institutional. This enables them to maintain ETH exposure without the complexity of direct validator management while accessing deep liquidity across on- and off-chain markets

By supporting stETH, Caladan is bringing decentralized finance closer to institutional trading. It makes yield-bearing collateral a functional part of a modern trading toolkit while evolving the industry into a unified and efficient financial system.

Caladan is a leading crypto market-making firm and crypto trading firm that brings structure and liquidity to fast-moving markets. It specializes in supporting token projects, exchanges, and institutions with reliable market-making solutions, DeFi expertise, treasury structuring, and venture investments. With over $50B in annual trading volume across 1,000+ digital assets and 65+ global exchanges, Caladan provides the infrastructure for crypto-native businesses as well as institutions to grow their market presence.

Meanwhile, Lido Institutional represents a dedicated group of contributors focused on advocating for the use of Lido protocol’s open-source, liquid staking middleware by non-retail users. Lido middleware provides a way to participate in the blockchain network validation process and get staking rewards for this activity. With a mission to democratize staking, Lido middleware lets users connect with node operators and stake their digital assets without the need to individually maintain hardware. For further information, please visit lido.fi/institutional.