Eigenlayer

EigenLayer is an Ethereum protocol that enables restaking of ether and liquid staking tokens (LSTs), allowing capital already staked on Ethereum to also secure additional networks and services known as Actively Validated Services (AVSs). Rather than bootstrapping their own validator sets and economic security, oracles, bridges, rollups and data-availability layers can draw on Ethereum's existing pooled security, while restakers earn additional yield and protocol-specific rewards on top of their base staking position. The system involves three participant groups: restakers (who deposit native ETH via an EigenPod smart contract or restake LSTs such as stETH), operators (who run the off-chain software each service requires and to whom most restakers delegate), and AVSs, which consume the pooled security. Restakers may also validate themselves rather than delegating.

The protocol is developed by Eigen Labs. In June 2025 Eigen Labs rebranded the broader platform as EigenCloud, repositioning from a restaking protocol toward a "verifiable cloud" for building applications with cryptographic guarantees. The current product set marketed on the company site comprises four primitives: EigenCompute (running arbitrary code in any language on any chain with cryptographic trust and no code changes), EigenAI (deterministic AI inference with OpenAI API-compatible interfaces), EigenDA (data availability with high throughput and sub-second confirmations for rollups and applications), and EigenLayer itself as the trust layer where ETH and EIGEN are staked. Third-party coverage also cites EigenVerify, a dispute-resolution product. EIGEN is described as the work and governance token for these services; slashing went live in 2025, and a proposed fee model (ELIP-12) would route AVS and EigenCloud revenue into EIGEN buybacks, though value accrual is described as unproven.

Founding story

EigenLayer was founded in 2021 by Sreeram Kannan, a former University of Washington professor who led UW's Blockchain Lab; the company's first employees also came from that lab. Kannan has said his background in tech and interest in peer-to-peer wireless systems led him to explore crypto and blockchain.

Business model

Eigen Labs builds and operates the EigenLayer restaking protocol and the EigenCloud platform, positioning itself as a two-sided marketplace between restakers/operators supplying economic security and AVSs and application developers consuming it. A proposed fee model (ELIP-12) would direct AVS and EigenCloud revenue into buybacks of the EIGEN token; sources note that value accrual to the token remains unproven.

Sources describe a proposed rather than established revenue mechanism: ELIP-12 would direct AVS and EigenCloud fees into EIGEN buybacks. No revenue figures are disclosed in the material reviewed.

Traction

More than 4 million ETH restaked and roughly 90% of restaked value per DefiLlama, with total restaked value peaking near $20 billion in late 2024 (the dollar figure tracks ETH's price). Named ecosystem users cited by the company include LayerZero, Coinbase AgentKit, Google's A2A protocol, and OpenFront.

Latest developments

June 2025 rebrand of the platform to EigenCloud with products spanning data, compute, AI inference and dispute resolution; slashing activated in 2025; a proposed ELIP-12 fee model directing AVS and EigenCloud revenue into EIGEN buybacks; a 25% staff layoff announced in July 2025; and reported work on a decentralized AI inference network, Darkbloom.