Lido interprets the NEST mechanism: initial use of the treasury model, linkage protocol growth and LDO value

The NEST (Network Economic Support tokenomics) mechanism is interpreted in the context of the Taifeng pledge agreement, Lido DAO, which binds the income of the agreement to the value of the LDO tokens by automating the chain to achieve continuous LDO buy-back. NEST is a central component of the Lido “LDO Value Alignment” strategy, which aims to allow LDO holders to share more directly in the benefits of the agreement. The mechanism is supported by the DAO Treasury Surplus Fund, and when income from Lido pledge operations exceeds the established benchmark, part of the excess income will be automatically converted to LDO through COW Swap. Based on the initial parameters set by Lido DAO, the NEST revenue base is $4.0 million annually (approximately $1.09 million per day). Fifty per cent of the excess will be used to repurchase LDOs, with a maximum of $50,000 per day and a cumulative ceiling of $165 million per day. Repurchase execution takes place on a daily basis, using a chain process that does not require permission. NEST will use the “Treasury-only mode” for the initial start-up, and the LDO purchased will enter the DAO Treasury directly. In the future, when market conditions are right, DAOs can switch to the LP mode by voting on the chain, using half of the money to purchase LDOs, the other half to wstETH and provide Curve liquidity. According to Lido, NEST is a mechanism for repurchase that is transparent, adjustable and free of manual intervention through smart contracts and chain governance, compared to programmes such as manual regular buy-backs, direct destruction of tokens or simple income-sharing. The mechanism contains a number of risk-control measures, including a daily cap on funds, a chain-based adjustment of governance parameters, price forecasting machine protection and an emergency moratorium to reduce the risks posed by market manipulation, prognosis and agreed income fluctuations. Previous measurements based on revenue data for the years 2024 to 2025 indicate that the NEST model expects to implement some $7.09 million of LDO buy-backs, consistent with the scale of the target expenditure. Lido states that in the future DAO can adjust the parameters by voting on the chain in accordance with agreed economic changes。