How Lido’s 690% dev growth is reshaping LDO price action

During ongoing market weakness, projects showing real growth in usage, revenue, and development attracted fresh capital. This shift pushed certain cryptocurrencies into daily gainer territory, even as most Layer‑1 tokens stayed subdued.

On the 25th of December, Lido DAO [LDO] joined that cohort, outperforming peers amid cautious market sentiment. The move reflected a growing preference for economically productive protocols rather than purely speculative rotations.

Could this renewed focus on fundamentals explain LDO’s relative strength?

Did LDO’s development surge finally command market attention?

Chain Broker data showed LDO ranked among the top projects by development activity growth, rising 690% year-over-year.

That placed LDO alongside projects showing sustained engineering commitment rather than short-lived contributor spikes.

Source: X

Such development momentum often preceded renewed investor confidence during periods of prolonged price consolidation. In LDO’s case, growth metrics appeared to stabilize sentiment following months of broader Layer-1 underperformance.

The development surge reinforced perceptions of long-term protocol relevance during a challenging market environment. That backdrop set the stage for improving short-term price dynamics.

Do fees and revenue confirm LDO’s on-chain strength?

Chain Broker data also showed LDO-related products ranked near the top for weekly fees and revenue generation. The protocol recorded approximately $14.3 million in weekly fees, highlighting consistent demand for staking infrastructure.

Source: X

That revenue profile contrasted with much of the Layer-1 sector, which struggled after October’s market peak. LDO’s performance suggested sustained protocol usage despite fading speculative activity elsewhere.

Revenue concentration further underscored selective resilience rather than broad ecosystem recovery. Still, market participants remained cautious as technical risks persisted.

Is LDO’s price breakout sustainable after the October crash?

At the time of writing, LDO emerged among the top daily gainers, rising 7.65%. The move followed an attempted break above a descending trendline that intensified after the crash on the 10th of October.

Momentum indicators stayed mixed. The RSI hovered near neutral, while the MACD suggested fading downside momentum rather than a clear bullish shift.

Source: TradingView

That crash deepened downside momentum across Layer-1s, pushing several assets far below mid-year highs. LDO’s recovery, therefore, stood out against a backdrop of lingering risk-off conditions.

Source: CoinGlass

However, CoinGlass liquidation heatmaps showed dense leverage clusters near the $0.51 level. Those clusters suggested downside risk could reappear if momentum weakened or broader conditions deteriorated.

Final Thoughts

• LDO’s strength reflected a market rotation toward development growth and revenue during sustained Layer-1 weakness.
• Yet liquidation pressure near key levels showed, fundamentals alone did not eliminate short-term technical risk.