{
  "$schema": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/schemas/article-v1.json",
  "schemaVersion": "1.0.0",
  "id": "wrapped-staked-ether",
  "canonical": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/wrapped-staked-ether/",
  "collection": "defi",
  "title": "Wrapped staked ether: shares instead of a rebasing balance",
  "description": "Understand Lido wstETH as a non-rebasing representation of stETH, including conversion rates, market prices and separate withdrawal steps.",
  "aliases": [
    "wstETH"
  ],
  "dates": {
    "published": "2026-10-02",
    "modified": "2026-10-02",
    "verified": "2026-10-02T18:19:48.887Z",
    "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02"
  },
  "authorship": {
    "publisher": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project",
    "process": "AI-assisted research and drafting with a separate automated source-verification pass; no external expert or named human review is implied."
  },
  "quickAnswer": {
    "text": "Lido’s wrapped staked ether, wstETH, represents stETH through a non-rebasing wrapper. A holder’s wstETH unit count does not rise merely because staking rewards accrue; the amount of stETH represented by each unit changes instead. Unwrapping returns stETH under the contract’s conversion rules and is separate from redeeming through Lido’s ether withdrawal queue.",
    "claimId": "wrapped-staked-ether-quick-answer",
    "sourceIds": [
      "lido-steth",
      "lido-withdrawals"
    ]
  },
  "keyFacts": [
    {
      "label": "Representation",
      "value": "wstETH uses a changing stETH conversion rate instead of rebasing holder balances.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "lido-steth"
      ],
      "id": "representation",
      "claimId": "wrapped-staked-ether-fact-representation"
    },
    {
      "label": "Conversion",
      "value": "The wrapper supports conversion between stETH and wstETH.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "lido-steth"
      ],
      "id": "conversion",
      "claimId": "wrapped-staked-ether-fact-conversion"
    },
    {
      "label": "Withdrawal",
      "value": "Protocol withdrawal for ether has request, finalization and claim stages.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "lido-withdrawals"
      ],
      "id": "withdrawal",
      "claimId": "wrapped-staked-ether-fact-withdrawal"
    }
  ],
  "prerequisites": [
    "liquid-staking",
    "rebasing-tokens"
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "example",
      "heading": "Count wrapper units and underlying units separately",
      "sourceIds": [
        "lido-steth"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "Suppose, purely illustratively, one wstETH represents 1.20 stETH. Two wstETH then represent 2.40 stETH. At a later conversion rate of 1.21, the same two units represent 2.42 stETH before rounding.",
        "Neither rate is a current quote. The example shows why comparing only the number of tokens in a wallet can miss changes in the underlying amount."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "price",
      "heading": "A conversion rate is different from a market quote",
      "sourceIds": [
        "lido-steth"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "The wrapper’s stETH conversion tells you what the contract represents. A trading venue’s price also depends on available liquidity and the assets exchanged. Do not assume one wstETH equals one stETH or one ether.",
        "Wrapping changes how exposure is recorded. It does not remove validator penalties, contract dependencies or the market-value risk of the underlying position."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "exit",
      "heading": "Choose between trading and protocol withdrawal",
      "sourceIds": [
        "lido-withdrawals",
        "lido-steth"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "Lido’s withdrawal queue can accept wstETH, unwrap it and create a withdrawal request. Finalization must occur before the request owner can claim reserved ether.",
        "A market sale follows a different route and price. When estimating proceeds, identify whether the plan is unwrapping to stETH, selling on an exchange or requesting ether from the protocol."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "Should my wstETH balance automatically increase every day?",
      "answer": "Not from the underlying rebase alone. Its accounting keeps the wrapper unit count unchanged while the stETH represented per unit can change; transfers, wrapping and unwrapping change the count.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "lido-steth"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "wrapped-staked-ether-quick-answer",
      "articleSlug": "wrapped-staked-ether",
      "statement": "Lido’s wrapped staked ether, wstETH, represents stETH through a non-rebasing wrapper. A holder’s wstETH unit count does not rise merely because staking rewards accrue; the amount of stETH represented by each unit changes instead. Unwrapping returns stETH under the contract’s conversion rules and is separate from redeeming through Lido’s ether withdrawal queue.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-6ff5ad291aef20ef",
        "source-e6758f7dcc7bc56a"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-6ff5ad291aef20ef",
          "locator": "stETH; wstETH; Withdrawal queue"
        },
        {
          "sourceId": "source-e6758f7dcc7bc56a",
          "locator": "Request; Finalization; Claim"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "defi",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:19:48.887Z",
        "reviewer": "automated independent verification — Codex root, separate from final-ten DeFi author",
        "notes": [
          "Read Lido stETH/wstETH distinction, share rounding and WithdrawalQueueERC721 request/finalization/claim. Recomputed2×1.20=2.40 and2×1.21=2.42. Conversion rates are expressly illustrative; unwrapping, market selling and ETH withdrawal separated."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "wrapped-staked-ether-fact-representation",
      "articleSlug": "wrapped-staked-ether",
      "statement": "Representation: wstETH uses a changing stETH conversion rate instead of rebasing holder balances.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-6ff5ad291aef20ef"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-6ff5ad291aef20ef",
          "locator": "stETH; wstETH; Withdrawal queue"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "defi",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:19:48.887Z",
        "reviewer": "automated independent verification — Codex root, separate from final-ten DeFi author",
        "notes": [
          "Read Lido stETH/wstETH distinction, share rounding and WithdrawalQueueERC721 request/finalization/claim. Recomputed2×1.20=2.40 and2×1.21=2.42. Conversion rates are expressly illustrative; unwrapping, market selling and ETH withdrawal separated."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "wrapped-staked-ether-fact-conversion",
      "articleSlug": "wrapped-staked-ether",
      "statement": "Conversion: The wrapper supports conversion between stETH and wstETH.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-6ff5ad291aef20ef"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-6ff5ad291aef20ef",
          "locator": "stETH; wstETH; Withdrawal queue"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "defi",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:19:48.887Z",
        "reviewer": "automated independent verification — Codex root, separate from final-ten DeFi author",
        "notes": [
          "Read Lido stETH/wstETH distinction, share rounding and WithdrawalQueueERC721 request/finalization/claim. Recomputed2×1.20=2.40 and2×1.21=2.42. Conversion rates are expressly illustrative; unwrapping, market selling and ETH withdrawal separated."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "wrapped-staked-ether-fact-withdrawal",
      "articleSlug": "wrapped-staked-ether",
      "statement": "Withdrawal: Protocol withdrawal for ether has request, finalization and claim stages.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-e6758f7dcc7bc56a"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-e6758f7dcc7bc56a",
          "locator": "Request; Finalization; Claim"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "defi",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:19:48.887Z",
        "reviewer": "automated independent verification — Codex root, separate from final-ten DeFi author",
        "notes": [
          "Read Lido stETH/wstETH distinction, share rounding and WithdrawalQueueERC721 request/finalization/claim. Recomputed2×1.20=2.40 and2×1.21=2.42. Conversion rates are expressly illustrative; unwrapping, market selling and ETH withdrawal separated."
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "lido-steth",
      "label": "stETH integration guide",
      "publisher": "Lido",
      "url": "https://docs.lido.fi/guides/lido-tokens-integration-guide/",
      "locator": "stETH; wstETH; Withdrawal queue",
      "note": "Rebasing balances, wrapped shares and asynchronous withdrawal accounting.",
      "version": null,
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T17:03:45.519Z",
      "contentSha256": "aa4330581cab2fccdb27f78d7046ddba8221464162088df97ca00697bb591a88",
      "recordId": "source-6ff5ad291aef20ef"
    },
    {
      "id": "lido-withdrawals",
      "label": "WithdrawalQueueERC721",
      "publisher": "Lido",
      "url": "https://docs.lido.fi/contracts/withdrawal-queue-erc721/",
      "locator": "Request; Finalization; Claim",
      "note": "Withdrawal request receipts, finalization and separate claims.",
      "version": null,
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T17:03:45.624Z",
      "contentSha256": "cde7564b0947a9a0bad64921749dbbea5fa01602436e2f1818fd096acfc6fedd",
      "recordId": "source-e6758f7dcc7bc56a"
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  ],
  "related": {
    "articles": [
      "rebasing-tokens",
      "defi-withdrawal-queues",
      "vault-share-price"
    ],
    "dossiers": [],
    "wallets": []
  },
  "revisionHistory": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "published",
      "summary": "First publication after primary-source research and independent automated verification."
    }
  ],
  "citation": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project. “Wrapped staked ether: shares instead of a rebasing balance.” Published 2026-10-02; updated 2026-10-02. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/wrapped-staked-ether/"
}