Ethereum strike protocol EigenLayer reaches billion mark

The Ethereum re-staking protocol, EigenLayer, reached a milestone on Dec. 20: users deposited crypto worth one billion US dollars since its inception. The project announced this on X. Shortly before that, EigenLayer had raised the deposit threshold from 150,000 to 500,000 Ether. In addition to ETH, stETH or cbETH, deposits of other liquid staked tokens were also allowed, including Swell and Stader.

With so-called re-staking, users can deposit their staked ETH or liquid tokens to secure other networks and receive additional returns. Not only because of the extra return, but also because of the prospect of a future airdrop, the project is very popular among Ethereum's staking community.

On Eigenlayer, users have the chance to earn points, which could potentially determine the amount of an airdrop. However, a separate token has not yet been officially confirmed. After the latest milestone, the project announced its next innovation: "Restaked Rollups." The concept aims to promote decentralization of the Layer 2 sector through the use of re-staking, according to a tweet from EigenLayer.

Despite expected high growth, re-staking poses certain "systemic risks," where Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin had already pointed out. EigenLayer therefore launched cautiously in June and began raising deposit thresholds only slowly so as not to overload the protocol.