# What is Liquid Collective?

Liquid Collective is a secure and enterprise-grade liquid staking protocol designed to meet the needs of institutional participants.

It is built and governed by a decentralized collective of leading Web3 teams, including [The Liquid Foundation](https://liquidfoundation.org/). The protocol aims to offer secure, compliant, and scalable staking across multiple blockchains — starting with [Ethereum](https://docs.liquidcollective.io/eth/).

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### 💧 What is liquid staking?

Liquid staking allows token holders to stake assets to secure proof-of-stake networks while maintaining liquidity. When users stake, they receive a *liquid staking token (LST)* as a receipt, which can be transferred, traded, or used in DeFi.

Unlike traditional staking — which locks assets for fixed periods — liquid staking improves flexibility and capital efficiency by allowing instant use of staked assets.

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### 🛠️ Liquid Collective Protocol

The Liquid Collective protocol includes:

* **Smart contracts**: A suite of contracts
* **Off-chain components**: APIs, monitoring tools, and operational software.
* **Service providers**: A vetted set of Node Operators and other network participants.

When users deposit into the protocol, they receive a *liquid staking token (e.g., LsETH , LsSOL)*, representing:

* Legal and beneficial ownership of the staked asset,
* Any accrued network rewards,
* Minus protocol service fees and potential slashing penalties.

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### 🆚 How does Liquid Collective compare?

Liquid Collective is built to address gaps in current liquid staking solutions — especially for institutions.

#### 🔍 Feature Comparison

| Feature                   | Liquid Collective        | Other Solutions      |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------ | -------------------- |
| **Focus**                 | Institutional-grade      | Mostly crypto-native |
| **Node Operators**        | Enterprise grade         | Varies widely        |
| **Compliance (KYC/AML)**  | Built-in                 | Not always present   |
| **Token Standardization** | LsToken unified standard | Fragmented LSTs      |
| **Liquidity Strategy**    | Deep, unified liquidity  | Often siloed         |

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### 🔐 Security and Compliance Standards

* Operated by enterprise-grade Node Operators (e.g., Coinbase Cloud, Figment, Blockdaemon, Staked, Galaxy).
* Multi-region, multi-client infrastructure.
* Contracts audited by top-tier security firms before mainnet deployment.

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### 🏢 Built for Institutions

* KYC/AML support for users and operators.
* API-first onboarding experience.
* Token design (e.g., cToken) gives customers control over reward flows.

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### 📏 Industry Standardization

* LsTokens offer a unified, user-friendly standard vs. today’s fragmented options.
* Open and composable — enabling broad DeFi and dapp integrations.
* Designed for liquidity and wide adoption — not siloed, platform-specific solutions.
* Aiming to be the **LsToken equivalent of stablecoin standards.**

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### 🤝 Collaborative by Design

Liquid Collective is built in partnership with:

* Trading venues
* Custodians
* Validators
* Service providers

### Multichain

Liquid Collective is built to be a multichain-capable liquid staking protocol. Liquid Collective launched first for Ethereum liquid staking with its liquid staking token, Liquid Staked ETH (LsETH). Liquid Collective most recently launched for Solana liquid staking with its liquid staking token, Liquid Staked SOL (LsSOL).

Follow the link below to read the documentation for Liquid Collective's different chain liquid staking protocols.

{% embed url="<https://docs.liquidcollective.io/eth>" %}

{% embed url="<https://docs.liquidcollective.io/sol>" %}

Together, these collaborators are helping shape the **liquid staking standard** for the decentralized internet.

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### 📚 Where can I learn more?

* 🌐 [Liquid Collective Website](https://liquidcollective.io/)
* 🧾 [What is LsETH?](https://liquidcollective.io/what-is-lseth/)