# Lido Staked Ether > The Lido Ethereum Liquid Staking Protocol, built on Ethereum 2.0's Beacon chain, allows their users to earn staking rewards on the Beacon chain without locking Ether or maintaining staking infrastructure. > > Users can deposit Ether to the Lido smart contract and receive `stETH` tokens in return. The smart contract then stakes tokens with the DAO-picked node operators. Users' deposited funds are pooled by the DAO, node operators never have direct access to the users' assets. > > Unlike staked ether, the `stETH` token is free from the limitations associated with a lack of liquidity and can be transferred at any time. > > ()