Lido [LDO] shuns staking for DOT and KSM, all you need to know

• Polkadot and Kusama staking will no longer be available for deposits on Lido.
• LDO bounced back, but the rally might be short-lived.

Crypto holders supporting the Polkadot [DOT] and Kusama [KSM] networks might be in for a rude shock following Lido Finance’s [LDO] latest announcement. On 29 March, the liquid staking platform revealed that it would stop supporting Kusama and Polkadot operations from August 2023, citing low liquidity and slow growth as the main reasons behind the decision.

As of August 1st, 2023, development and operation support for Lido on Polkadot and Kusama will be discontinued.

To learn more about the process and timeline, please see https://t.co/7WmdnRhFPm.

— Lido (@LidoFinance) March 29, 2023

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Polkadot had $4 million worth of DOT staked with Lido, while there was $75,000 worth of KSM staked as of 9 March. To put things in perspective, staked DOT represented 0.19% of staked crypto, while staked KSM represented 0.01% of all the staked crypto on Lido.

Source: DeFiLlama

Lido offers a small window of opportunity

‌Although Lido will no longer accept staking deposits for KSM and DOT as of 1 August, those who already have staked funds will not be affected. They would continue to receive staking rewards and other benefits. In other words, Lido gave DOT and KSM holders some time to potentially stake their coins.

Now that the clock is ticking on Kusama and Polkadot staking via Lido, will there be a scramble for the two native coins? It is possible, if investors feel like they are missing out on staking opportunities. There might be a surge in demand for both DOT and KSM if there is a last-minute rush to stake on Lido.

As far as recent on-chain observations are concerned, network growth had its weekly peak on 27 March. It has been tanking since then, in response to the current market slowdown. LDO’s mean coin age registered a steady upward gradient within the last seven days.

Source: Santiment

LDO’s active addresses surged in the last two days after previously showing signs of a slowdown. A confirmation that there was robust market activity within the same period. As expected, the volume contributed by the surge in active users may have influenced the price action.

Source: Santiment

How much are 1,10,100 LDOs worth today?

A look at LDO’s price action from 27 February confirmed that the recent surge in 24-hr active addresses represented overall bullish activity. LDO’s $2.36 press time price represented a 17% upside from its weekly low.

Source: TradingView

LDO may have to contend with some resistance at the RSI’s mid-point. However, the network is about to go through one of its most important phases, courtesy Ethereum’s [ETH] upcoming Shanghai upgrade, which may have a pronounced impact on the price.