EigenLayer plans to introduce additional features, such as in-protocol payments from AVSs to operators and slashing, later this year.
EigenLayer, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol focused on providing restaking services for Ethereum (ETH), officially debuted on the mainnet on April 9, 2024.
According to a recent report from Cointelegraph, the protocol, which already boasts more than $13 billion in user deposits, was “partially” launched on the Ethereum mainnet as some of its features have yet to debut on the protocol.
EigenLayer Now Live on Ethereum
The crypto restaking protocol founded by Sreeram Kannan announced in a social media post on X that its data availability solution, EigenDA, has also gone live on Ethereum.
EigenDA functions as an actively validated service (AVS) and is built on top of EigenLayer. With its debut on Ethereum, EigenDA is now positioned to compete with other data storage service providers such as Celestia.
EigenLayer’s launch on the Ethereum mainnet has a new feature that allows restakers to delegate their restaked balance to their preferred Eigenlayer operators who have registered to run AVSs. The blockchain restaking service provider said that AVSs outside of Eigen Labs’ EigenDA could also register with the protocol.
EigenLayer to Expand Protocol Features
EigenLayer plans to introduce additional features, such as in-protocol payments from AVSs to operators and slashing, later this year.
For clarity, slashing is a mechanism that penalizes validators by taking their staked crypto if they fail to perform their duties correctly. The platform clarified in a blog post that these features are not included in the mainnet launch.
“Importantly, this mainnet launch does not include (1) in-protocol payments from AVSs to operators and (2) slashing. We are allowing the EigenLayer marketplace to develop and stabilize before introducing in-protocol payments and slashing to mainnet later this year.”
The integration of the two services into the platform is planned for an undisclosed date this year, allowing the EigenLayer marketplace time to “develop and stabilize”.
Additionally, EigenLayer plans to add another feature to its in-protocol payment to enable it to distribute interest to restakers.
Like Ethereum, the protocol will operate on a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism.
EigenLayer Ranks Second among Ethereum’s DeFi Protocols
Meanwhile, even before its mainnet launch, EigenLayer has become a popular choice among users, emerging as the second-largest DeFi protocol, according to DeFiLlama. The protocol boasts billions of dollars in total value locked (TVL).
The blockchain restaking service provider offers points to depositors, which has attracted a large user base who believe these points might be linked to a future token airdrop.
Last year, Eigen Labs, the brains behind the development of the protocol, secured $100 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).