Borrow against LDO
Teller pools accept LDO, the Lido DAO governance token, as collateral on Ethereum at up to 28.6% LTV, lending USDC at 25% APR. Every loan is fixed-term with no margin-call, so a price fall during the loan cannot liquidate your collateral.
| Collateral | Network | LTV | APR |
|---|---|---|---|
| LDO | Ethereum | 28.6% | 25% |
Pool data read . Rates and LTVs are set per pool and change when operators change them.
LDO is not stETH, and the pool means LDO
This is the most common mix-up worth clearing first. stETH is the receipt for ether staked through Lido and tracks the ether price. LDO is the governance token of the Lido DAO and trades on its own terms. The pool on this page holds LDO, at 0x5a98fcbea516cf06857215779fd812ca3bef1b32 on Ethereum with 18 decimals.
Teller pools take it at 28.6% LTV and 25% APR. At that ceiling, ten thousand LDO supports a loan of about the figure shown above in USDC.
Governance holders borrow rather than sell
A governance balance is a voting position as much as a financial one, and selling it gives up the vote along with the exposure. Borrowing against it keeps both: the tokens stay yours through the term, and in the US a loan is generally not the taxable disposal a sale would be.
Note that the collateral sits with the protocol while the loan runs, so plan around any vote you intend to cast during the term rather than assuming the balance stays in your wallet.
What LDO actually governs
The Lido DAO decides the node operator set, the fee split between stakers and the protocol, and the parameters staking runs under. LDO is the token that votes on all of it, which is why the holders tend to be participants rather than traders.
Worth keeping the family straight while you are here: stETH rebases daily as rewards land, wstETH is the wrapped non-rebasing form of the same claim, and LDO is neither. Only LDO is priced on governance rather than on ether, and only LDO is what this pool holds.
What the fixed term removes
Rate, LTV and the roll window lock when the loan opens, and no liquidation threshold exists while it runs. A drawdown on day 12 of a 30-day loan leaves your obligation exactly where it started, with no health factor to defend and nothing to top up at an inconvenient hour.
What replaces it is a date. Repay on the due date, or roll into a fresh term at the rate on offer that day. Miss it and the collateral is forfeit, which makes the risk a calendar you control rather than a chart you watch.
Ether itself borrows far cheaper on the same chain; see borrowing against WETH, where mainnet pools quote the highest ceiling on the platform.
Frequently asked questions
No. stETH is the receipt for ether staked through Lido and tracks the ether price. LDO is the governance token of the Lido DAO and trades on its own terms. This pool holds LDO.
The collateral sits with the protocol for the length of the term, so plan around any vote you intend to cast rather than assuming the balance stays in your wallet.
Nothing happens to the loan. There is no liquidation threshold during the term and no health factor to defend, so your obligation on the due date stays where it started.
Yes, and that is the point of the product. You keep the tokens and any appreciation on them, and in the US borrowing is generally not the taxable disposal a sale would be.
USDC on Ethereum, delivered to the wallet that signed the borrow.
Open a loan
Connect a wallet, deposit your collateral, and borrow a stablecoin. No credit check, no application.
Go to the borrow tab →No collateral to pledge? Check whether you pre-qualify for a no-collateral personal loan. Soft check, no hard pull.