There are two ways to convert Lido stETH back to ETH: queue up for a protocol withdrawal, or swap directly on the secondary market. If you are time-sensitive, I suggest looking at the secondary market first — Curve, Uniswap, and other DEXs allow instant execution, but the price may deviate from 1:1. If you are not in a hurry and want to get ETH back at the protocol rate of 1:1, use the withdrawal queue.
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Protocol Withdrawal: Redeem at 1:1, But You Have to Wait
The Lido protocol itself provides a native withdrawal channel. You submit stETH to the withdrawal queue, and the protocol gives you ETH at a 1:1 ratio, after deducting the corresponding staking reward share from your stETH balance so that the ETH amount matches the stETH you submitted.
The withdrawal process has two steps:
The first step is to submit a request. In the withdrawal section of the Lido interface (stake.lido.fi), enter the amount of stETH you want to redeem and confirm the transaction. This step locks your stETH in the withdrawal queue contract and gives you an NFT (unstETH) that represents your place in the queue.
The second step is to claim ETH. When your request has been processed, you need to return to the Claim page and manually claim your ETH. When you claim, the corresponding unstETH NFT is burned and ETH is sent to your address.
The waiting time is not fixed. The normal range given in Lido's official help documentation is 1 to 5 days. The actual waiting time depends on four factors: the amount of stETH backlogged in the withdrawal queue, the operational performance of Lido's validator node pool, the length of the validator exit queue on the Ethereum Beacon Chain, and the overall demand for staking/unstaking at that time. Lido processes requests on a first-come, first-served basis, so the longer the queue, the longer you wait.
In extreme cases, Lido may enter Bunker Mode and pause fast processing of requests. According to data compiled by Foresight News, if a large-scale outage event occurs, the expected delay is about 1 day, with a maximum of 7 days; if a large-scale slashing event occurs, the expected delay could reach 18 days, with a maximum of 36 days. This is not the norm, but it is worth knowing that this possibility exists.
Secondary Market Swap: Instant Arrival, But With a Price Gap
stETH itself is a liquid staking token and can be sold directly for ETH on a DEX or CEX without waiting in the withdrawal queue.
Curve's stETH/ETH pool is one of the most concentrated venues for liquidity. It is a Stableswap pool, specifically designed for asset pairs whose prices should be close, and trading fees typically range from 0.005% to 0.02%. When the two assets in the pool are balanced, the swap ratio is close to 1:1; when more people want to sell stETH for ETH, stETH in the pool increases and ETH decreases, so the swap ratio drops below 1.
Public data shows that this ratio is not fixed. In early August 2026, the stETH/ETH ratio on Curve was about 1:0.9725, and in early September it recovered to about 1:0.9454. These numbers reflect the supply and demand state in the pool at that time, not the protocol-level exchange rate. Protocol withdrawals are always processed at 1:1, while the discount on the secondary market is the price you pay for "instant liquidity."
Besides Curve, Uniswap also has an stETH/ETH trading pair, but liquidity is usually less concentrated than on Curve.
In 2026, Lido also relaunched an integrated fast swap feature. Through CoWSwap's batch auction mechanism, it can complete swaps from stETH to ETH, USDC, or WBTC in about 30 seconds, with MEV protection and no need to wait in the withdrawal queue. This feature is embedded in Lido's staking interface and is suitable for users who need to adjust positions quickly.
How to Choose: It Depends on How You Weigh Time and Price
When to use protocol withdrawal: You don't mind waiting a few days and want to get ETH back at a 1:1 ratio. If your ETH amount is large, slippage and discounts on the secondary market could eat up a significant portion of value, so the 1:1 redemption from the queue is more cost-effective.
When to use the secondary market: You need ETH immediately for other operations, or the current secondary market discount is very small (for example, close to 0.98 or higher), so the cost of instant execution is acceptable. For small amounts, the impact of gas fees and slippage is also relatively manageable.
A practical way to decide is to check the current quote on Curve or Lido's swap interface first. If the stETH swap ratio is above 0.99, the secondary market price gap is very small, and swapping instantly is usually more convenient than waiting a few days. If the discount has widened below 0.95, you need to do the math: is waiting a few days to get 1:1 ETH, or getting 95% ETH now, a better fit for your capital plan?
A Detail That Is Easy to Overlook
The withdrawal path for wstETH holders is slightly different. If you hold wstETH (wrapped stETH), during a protocol withdrawal the system will first unwrap wstETH into stETH, then calculate the amount of ETH you can receive based on the wstETH/stETH exchange rate at that time. The wstETH balance does not increase automatically like stETH does; its value is reflected in the exchange ratio. When you withdraw, the request amount you see will be displayed in stETH units, which is normal.
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References
- Lido: Help·stETH 스테이킹을 해제하려면 어떻게 해야 하나요?, no update date indicated; checked on 2026-09-26.
- Curve Technical Docs·Overview, no update date indicated; checked on 2026-09-26.
- Lido: Help·How long does an Ethereum withdrawal take?, no update date indicated; checked on 2026-09-26.
- Lido Liquid Staking·Withdrawals, no update date indicated; checked on 2026-09-26.
- HTX·Curve上stETH与ETH兑换比例涨至1:0.9454, published or updated on 2026-09-01; checked on 2026-09-26.
- Gate.com·以太坊质押代币是什么, published or updated on 2025-12-24; checked on 2026-09-26.
- Foresight News·Lido 详解 #2：共识与提款, published or updated on 2026-03-16; checked on 2026-09-26.
- Pluang·Lido enables instant swaps from stETH to ETH, USDC, or WBTC, published or updated on 2026-07-12; checked on 2026-09-26.
- BlockBeats·当前Curve上stETH与ETH兑换比例为1: 0.9725, published or updated on 2026-08-01; checked on 2026-09-26.
- Lido: Help·FAQ: 이더리움 인출, no update date indicated; checked on 2026-09-26.
- Lido: Help·以太坊提款需要多长时间？, no update date indicated; checked on 2026-09-26.
- TradingStrategy.ai·STETH-ETH 1% token pair on Uniswap v3 on Ethereum, published or updated on 2026-04-04; checked on 2026-09-26.
- Foresight News·Lido 以太坊提款：概述和常见问题, published or updated on 2026-06-28; checked on 2026-09-26.
