stake.link (SDL): What It Is, Uses and Risks

SDL is the token associated with stake.link, a liquid staking protocol built for Chainlink's LINK token. Liquid staking lets people stake LINK while receiving a transferable receipt token, which the protocol calls stLINK. SDL is a separate token from stLINK. According to the project's own description, SDL has three roles: sharing in platform fees, voting on governance, and receiving priority access to stake LINK through the protocol. The project is classed in data sources under Ethereum ecosystem and liquid staking. the public information available here do not give a launch date or a consensus model, so this page does not describe either.

The project describes three functions for SDL. First, it is a fee token: staking SDL is said to return a percentage of fees the platform generates, and that fee is described as scaling with the amount of LINK and rewards in the protocol. Second, it is a governance token: holders vote on platform direction, future fee settings and participant involvement. Third, it gives priority access, meaning SDL stakers are described as the first to deposit LINK at stake.link. These are design claims from the project. Whether and how each works in practice depends on the live contracts and governance decisions, which can change over time, so readers should check the current protocol documentation before relying on any of them.

As of 2026-11-05, the data shows a total and maximum supply of 100 million SDL, with about 37.8 million in circulation, or roughly 38 percent. At the same date the price was about $0.26, the market capitalization about $9.7 million and the fully diluted valuation about $25.8 million. The 24-hour trading volume was only about $288, which is very thin and means prices can move sharply on small trades and may not reflect a fair exit price. The token ranked 1269th by market capitalization. Its all-time high was about $1.56 on 2025-09-03 and its all-time low about $0.072 on 2023-05-21. Over one year the price fell about 41 percent. These figures change constantly and are shown only as a snapshot.

SDL is issued as a token on Ethereum, and public sources list Ethereum as its only issuing chain. It is not the native token of any blockchain. The stake.link protocol that SDL is tied to is also on Ethereum, and it works with LINK and its liquid receipt token stLINK. Readers should be careful to confirm they are looking at the correct SDL token on Ethereum, because copycat tokens with the same ticker are common. Compare the contract address against the project's official published information before buying or transferring anything, and be aware that moving tokens between networks through bridges adds its own risks.

SDL carries several risks. Trading volume is extremely low, so a holder may be unable to sell at a price near the quoted value. Governance tokens often concentrate voting power among a few large holders, which could shape fee rules in ways smaller holders do not control. Fee-sharing claims depend on the protocol generating fees and on the design holding up, and both can change. Smart contracts can contain bugs or be exploited, and the protocol's liquid staking adds further exposure to Chainlink's staking mechanism. The token has also lost much of its value since its 2025 peak. Nothing here is investment advice. For storage, use a self-custody wallet that supports Ethereum tokens, keep recovery phrases offline, and never share them. Test with a small amount first.