EigenLayer

EigenLayer is the restaking protocol of Ethereum: it lets staked ETH, and the EIGEN token, secure other services in exchange for extra rewards and extra risk. Created by Eigen Labs, founded by former University of Washington professor Sreeram Kannan, it went live in 2023 and has operated under the EigenCloud brand since June 2025, with a growing focus on verifiable computing and AI. This page explains how EigenLayer restaking works, what EIGEN is for, how the protocol is governed and why it carries more risk than plain staking.

What EigenLayer does

On Ethereum, validators lock ETH to secure the chain. EigenLayer lets them, or holders of liquid staking tokens, commit that same stake to other systems called Actively Validated Services (AVSs): data availability layers, oracles, bridges, coprocessors and similar networks that need their own security. Restakers delegate to operators who run the AVS software. In return they earn rewards paid by those services, and they accept that their stake can be slashed if the operator misbehaves. EigenDA, a data availability service used by rollups, is the best-known AVS and is developed by Eigen Labs itself.

How restaking works

Users can restake natively, by pointing their validator withdrawals to an EigenPod contract, or by depositing liquid staking tokens. They then delegate to an operator, and the operator opts in to one or more AVSs. Each AVS sets its own rules and slashing conditions; slashing went live on mainnet on 17 April 2025, and redistribution, which lets slashed funds be sent to affected parties instead of burned, followed in July 2025. Since mid-2025, the EigenCloud stack adds EigenCompute and EigenAI, services that aim to make offchain computation and AI outputs verifiable.

The EIGEN token

EIGEN started with a supply of about 1.67 billion and an inflation of 4% of that initial supply each year, paid as Programmatic Incentives to restakers and operators. 45% was set aside for the community, including stakedrops to early users. Tokens became transferable on 1 October 2024; investors and early contributors then had a one-year lock followed by monthly unlocks, with full unlock expected in October 2027, so regular token unlocks continue. About half of total supply circulates as of October 2026. Beyond rewards, EIGEN is designed as a “universal intersubjective work token”: it can be staked to secure AVSs whose faults cannot be proven onchain, with a social forking mechanism as a backstop.

Governance

Protocol changes are written as EigenLayer Improvement Proposals (ELIPs). A Protocol Council, created in December 2024, reviews them, and upgrades and pauses run through multisigs held by the Eigen Foundation and partners; fully token-based governance is a longer-term goal. In December 2025, ELIP-12 created an Incentives Committee and proposed sending net fees from EigenDA, EigenCompute and EigenAI to EIGEN buybacks. EIGEN emissions for the ETH quorum ended on 30 July 2026.

History and key dates

• 2022: $14.5 million seed round led by Polychain Capital and Ethereal Ventures.
• 28 March 2023: $50 million Series A led by Blockchain Capital.
• June 2023: restaking opens on Ethereum mainnet.
• 22 February 2024: $100 million Series B led by a16z crypto.
• 9 April 2024: operators, AVSs and EigenDA go live on mainnet.
• 1 October 2024: EIGEN becomes transferable.
• 17 April 2025: slashing goes live.
• 17 June 2025: EigenCloud launches; a16z crypto buys $70 million of EIGEN.

Security and risks

EigenLayer’s contracts have been audited by Sigma Prime, Certora, Cantina and Consensys Diligence, among others, with new audits for each release. The protocol itself has not been exploited, but in October 2024 a compromised email thread led to about 1.67 million EIGEN being sent to an attacker. Risks to understand:

• Slashing risk: a faulty or malicious operator, or a bug in an AVS, can cost restakers part of their stake.
• Stacking risk: liquid restaking tokens add layers of contracts, each a possible point of failure.
• Upgrade risk: frequent contract upgrades and multisig control increase the attack surface.
• Token risk: ongoing unlocks until 2027 add supply.
• Business risk: Eigen Labs cut about a quarter of its staff in July 2025 and keeps reshaping its product focus.

Our risk score is 4 out of 5: a serious team and audited code, but restaking adds slashing and layered risks on top of ordinary staking.

How to use EigenLayer safely

• Start from eigencloud.xyz and beware of fake restaking dashboards and claim pages.
• Choose operators carefully and check which AVSs they run and their slashing conditions.
• Remember that withdrawals are not instant and that rewards are not guaranteed.
• Read our DeFi guide to understand how risks add up when protocols are stacked.