wstETH is a DeFi-compatible version of stETH. stETH is a tradeable receipt of ETH locked through Lido to secure the Ethereum chain.
wstETH is a mid-cap, fully collateralized asset. This asset is exposed to the underlying risks of Lido and Base bridge, which are protocols rated as Best and Average, respectively.
Wrapped stETH (Base) has no dependencies.
wstETH has an uncapped supply but has inflation control or burn mechanisms in place. wstETH is backed 1:1 by ETH staked on the Base bridge protocol on Ethereum. The asset accrues staking rewards automatically. wstETH can trade at a discount to 1 ETH as it is less liquid, has less utility (cannot be used to pay for gas fees), and has more technical risk (Lido smart contract bugs).