Omni Network team has signed a $600 million Ethereum deal with the restaking protocol Ether Fi, which will be used to enhance the security of the Omni Network ecosystem and EigenLayer.
Significant Step from the Ether Fi Team
Omni Network serves its users as a Layer-1 blockchain network that securely connects Ethereum rollups via restaking, offering lower latency and improved ecosystem experiences.
The $600 million worth of Ethereum represents about 33% of Ether Fi’s total locked value (TVL) of $1.88 billion. According to blockchain data analytics platform DefiLlama, Ether Fi, which saw a TVL increase of over 163% last month, is currently the world’s largest restaking protocol. The $600 million worth of Ethereum will be restaked in EigenLayer, the largest Ethereum restaking protocol with a TVL of over $10.3 billion.
This new strategic partnership comes about two weeks after venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) announced a $100 million funding round for EigenLayer. The protocol also completed a $50 million funding round led by Blockchain Capital in March.
Noteworthy Details of the Partnership
Founded in 2021, EigenLayer allows validators and stakers to restake liquid staking derivatives like Lido Staked Ether and RocketPool’s rETH to secure and validate other networks. These assets can also be used in other decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols for additional yield.
While liquid staking is currently the largest protocol category on DefiLlama with a total TVL of $54.7 billion, restaking protocols rank sixth with a total value of $10.305 billion. EigenLayer’s TVL alone constitutes 99.96% of the total $10.305 billion TVL locked in restaking protocols.
Investor interest in restaking protocols like EigenLayer increased after the protocol temporarily lifted its staking cap on February 5th to promote organic growth. During this restaking window, EigenLayer’s TVL surged from $2.15 billion on February 5th to $6.05 billion on February 10th, a 181% increase. While a new staking cap is being implemented, the project plans to permanently remove this limit in the future.
