Recently, a testnet version of a new protocol was released that aims to make it possible for Ethereum validators and stakers to “re-stake” their respective assets onto other new networks. The “EigenLayer” is the name of the new protocol.
The mainnet debut of EigenLayer is not anticipated until the third quarter of this year. Additionally, three steps of onboarding different members into the ecosystem are anticipated during its testing phase.
The Goerli testing network for Ethereum is anticipated to be used during the testing phase’s first stage. This innovation has tremendous support and reportedly received $50 million in a Series A fundraising round in late March from a group that included Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital, Electric Capital, and Finality Capital Partner, as well as the cryptocurrency venture capital firm Blockchain Capital.
The Vision Behind EigenLayer
The newest protocol, EigenLayer, aims to develop into a decentralized market where Ethereum validators and node operators can charge fees for extra services. They will be able to retake the assets they acquired in exchange for staking ether on websites like Lido and RocketPool thanks to this.
It’s also important to note that the aforementioned assets can be used again to verify and secure different networks, including side chains or non-EVM blockchains. The protocol whitepaper also revealed plans to enable restaking for ETH that has been removed from the Beacon Chain after the Shapella upgrade.
They stated that Ethereum validators would be able to opt-in to new modules based on EigenLayer and set their beacon chain withdrawal credentials to the EigenLayer smart contracts.
Noting that this new protocol tries to address problems with validator financial incentives is also important. Sreeram Kannan, the founder of EigenLayer, stated that additional yields and allowing smaller networks to develop safely are to be expected, as well as making it easier to move and re-stake ETH onto other networks, which would reward validators and stakers.
On the other hand, Joseph Lubin, the co-founder of Ethereum, declared that the Eigen Labs team is leading some of the most fascinating work now taking on Ethereum before the month of March has even come to a close. A programmatic, decentralized trust marketplace, he continued, is “Eigenlayer,” a new paradigm for encouraging protocol-centric innovation.
