Ethereum L2 EigenLayer to End Token Transfer Restrictions by September 30

Coinspeaker
Ethereum L2 EigenLayer to End Token Transfer Restrictions by September 30

The EIGEN token transfer restrictions on Ethereum Layer-2 protocol EigenLayer will end in less than one week. This means that token transferability will be activated by September 30, giving stakeholders permission to trade and transfer their share of EIGEN tokens, including the airdropped rewards.

EigenLayer TVL Drops Significantly

As part of removing transfer restrictions for the token, users with staked tokens must observe a 7-day withdrawal period to unstake their EIGEN tokens. Before this time, all tokens during EigenLayer’s “stakedrop” were non-transferrable. EigenLayer prides itself on a protocol that allows users to deposit and stake Ethereum.

In the long run, it aims to put the staked funds on secure third-party networks or Actively Validated Services (AVS). The platform has a total supply of 1.67 billion native tokens, which are expected to play a role within a crypto-economics security system dubbed inter-subjective forking. According to pre-market trading platforms Hyperliquid, the value of the EIGEN token’s derivatives is approximately $3.4, while its fully diluted valuation is $5.4 billion.

On the other hand, EigenLayer’s influx of deposits in the phased rollout has yet to translate into significant inflows. Its Total Value Locked has dropped from an all-time high (ATH) of $20 billion in June to $12 billion. As of June 6, EigenLaye­r’s TVL hit $20.09 billion. At the time, this achievement placed Eige­nLayer as the second-large­st Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocol, just behind Lido. At the money, DeFiLlama data shows it is now surpassed by Lido, and Aave.

On August 16, the TVL experienced a dramatic $351 million reduction within 24 hours. This came when Eigen Labs, the entity behind EigenLayer, faced accusations of engaging in practices where a significant amount of tokens were received from projects using its platform. Many stakeholders became concerned about the transparency and ethics of EigenLayer’s operations.

The restaking protocol attempted to address the concerns, citing policy changes, but this did not improve the TVL. Per DefilLama data, EigenLayer’s TVL is currently at $12.29 billion.

EigenLayer Unveiled Second Stakedrop

Noteworthy, the token transfer news comes less than three weeks after the leading Ethereum restaking protocol confirmed the debut of the second season of its “stakedrop” program. The protocol hinted at 86 million EIGEN tokens being released to various stakeholders, including stakers, node operators, ecosystem partners, and community members. The token distribution later commenced a few days ago.

The beneficiaries were those actively involved between March 15 and August 15, receiving EIGEN in their wallets. Of the 86 million EIGEN tokens, 70 million were earmarked for stakers and node operators. It is worth noting that the distribution was based on each participant’s pro-rata share of Ethereum staked during the specified period.

The project team also allocated a maximum of 10 million tokens for liquid staking protocols, AVSs, and rollups, among other key contributors to the EigenLayer ecosystem. The remaining 6 million tokens were designated to early advocates and open-source contributors.

Ethereum L2 EigenLayer to End Token Transfer Restrictions by September 30