{"slug":"steth-vs-eth","question":"stETH or ETH — is it worth holding stETH instead of plain ether?","answer":"stETH (Lido DAO) yields ~2.25% (in ETH), no minimum, can be bought on a DEX without KYC. rETH (Rocket Pool) yields ~1.93% (in ETH), minimum from ~0.01 ETH, can be bought on a DEX without KYC. cbETH (Coinbase) yields ~2.28% (in ETH, after fee), no minimum.","shortAnswer":"stETH (Lido DAO) yields ~2.25% (in ETH), no minimum, can be bought on a DEX without KYC. rETH (Rocket Pool) yields ~1.93% (in ETH), minimum from ~0.01 ETH, can be bought on a DEX without KYC. cbETH (Coinbase) yields ~2.28% (in ETH, after fee), no minimum.","asOf":"2026-11-09","faq":[{"q":"What do I risk by holding stETH instead of ETH?","a":"Three things ETH does not carry: a bug in Lido’s smart contracts, penalties on the validators that stake for Lido, and the market price — stETH can trade below 1 ETH when many holders sell at once, as it did in 2022. Withdrawing through Lido returns ETH one for one, but through a queue that can take days."},{"q":"Is the stETH yield paid in dollars?","a":"No. The reward is paid in ETH, so your stETH balance grows in ETH terms while its dollar value moves with the ETH price."},{"q":"Which one has the lowest minimum?","a":"stETH (Lido DAO), with no minimum. The highest stated minimum here is rETH, with minimum from ~0.01 ETH."},{"q":"Which of them can I buy without KYC?","a":"2 of 3 can be bought on a DEX without identity verification: stETH, rETH. For the rest, the source does not state the secondary-market gate."},{"q":"Where does the yield come from?","a":"stETH: Ethereum staking rewards (consensus + fees). rETH: Ethereum staking rewards. cbETH: Ethereum staking rewards (Coinbase validators)."},{"q":"How risky are they?","a":"stETH: Medium (crypto price). rETH: Medium (crypto price). cbETH: Medium (crypto price). The risk label is ours, in plain language, and is explained on each token page."},{"q":"Are these yields fixed?","a":"3 of 3 are variable: the rate moves with markets and is not guaranteed. The figures on this page were last checked on 2026-11-09."}],"count":3,"rows":[{"ticker":"stETH","name":"Lido Staked ETH","issuer":"Lido DAO","category":"Staking","yield":"~2.25% (in ETH)","yieldPct":2.25,"yieldKind":"variable","minimumUsd":0,"size":"Largest liquid-staking protocol","chains":"Ethereum (+L2s)","country":"Decentralized protocol","kycSecondary":"none","maturity":null,"lifecycle":"live","isin":null,"contract":null,"source":"https://lido.fi","lastVerified":"2026-11-09","tier":"curated","page":"https://tokenbank.world/token/stETH","json":"https://tokenbank.world/api/tokens/stETH"},{"ticker":"rETH","name":"Rocket Pool Staked ETH","issuer":"Rocket Pool","category":"Staking","yield":"~1.93% (in ETH)","yieldPct":1.93,"yieldKind":"variable","minimumUsd":0.01,"size":"Top-3 decentralized LST","chains":"Ethereum (+L2s)","country":"Decentralized protocol","kycSecondary":"none","maturity":null,"lifecycle":"live","isin":null,"contract":null,"source":"https://rocketpool.net","lastVerified":"2026-11-09","tier":"curated","page":"https://tokenbank.world/token/rETH","json":"https://tokenbank.world/api/tokens/rETH"},{"ticker":"cbETH","name":"Coinbase Wrapped Staked ETH","issuer":"Coinbase","category":"Staking","yield":"~2.28% (in ETH, after fee)","yieldPct":2.28,"yieldKind":"variable","minimumUsd":0,"size":"Top-5 LST","chains":"Ethereum / Base","country":"USA (Coinbase; EU via MiCA entity)","kycSecondary":"unknown","maturity":null,"lifecycle":"live","isin":null,"contract":null,"source":"https://www.coinbase.com/cbeth","lastVerified":"2026-11-09","tier":"curated","page":"https://tokenbank.world/token/cbETH","json":"https://tokenbank.world/api/tokens/cbETH"}],"programs":[],"underlyings":[],"sources":[],"_links":{"page":"https://tokenbank.world/answers/steth-vs-eth","index":"https://tokenbank.world/api/v1/answers"},"_citation":"TokenBank, “stETH or ETH — is it worth holding stETH instead of plain ether?”, https://tokenbank.world/answers/steth-vs-eth (data as of 2026-11-09), CC BY 4.0.","_license":"CC BY 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","_disclaimer":"Computed from sourced data; yields are variable and not guaranteed. Not investment advice. Verify each row’s source before relying on it."}