The recent booming development of the cryptocurrency market seems not to have benefited all participants. Although the market continues to improve, Ethereum staking service provider Lido has announced a 15% layoff. This unexpected move reflects some deep-seated changes in the current crypto ecosystem.

The direct reason for the layoffs may be to control expenses, but what is more worth noting is the shift in the market landscape. In the current wave of Ethereum buying frenzy, large institutional investors are opting for self-custody staking solutions instead of relying on third-party services like Lido.

Specifically, different institutions are adopting different staking strategies: some choose to collaborate with Anchorage Digital, some partially use Coinbase's custodial services, and some even completely adopt offline staking methods. This trend indicates that the dominant forces in each market cycle are supporting and utilizing the projects and services they recognize.

This phenomenon has triggered reflections on the future development of the Ethereum ecosystem. With the entry of institutional investors, Ethereum's own position may be further consolidated, but many decentralized finance (DeFi) projects built on it may face the risk of being marginalized. Those DeFi projects that fail to gain favor from this wave of Wall Street capital may become a microcosm of this era, struggling to share in the current market prosperity.

This change not only affects staking service providers like Lido but may also reshape the landscape of the entire Ethereum ecosystem. As the dominance of institutional investors becomes increasingly apparent, we may see more integration of traditional finance with blockchain technology, but we must also be wary of the risks that excessive centralization may bring.

Overall, the Lido layoffs are a signal that even in a bull market, the competitive landscape of the encryption industry is constantly changing. Project teams need to continuously innovate and adapt to market demands in order to remain competitive in this rapidly evolving industry.