Cryptocurrency sector sees significant developments today on the EigenLayer front. Accordingly, demands for EigenLayer’s native tokens will open today following the announcement of the distribution and “stakedrop” plan last month. As previously announced by the Eigen Foundation, the tokens, once demanded, will be non-transferable until the end of the third quarter. The release date for token transfer functionality is expected to be set for September 30, 2024.
What Should Users Do?
After demanding the tokens today, users can begin to stake and delegate to operators of EigenDA, Eigen’s native data availability solution. Users who want to support EigenDA must use the EigenLayer web portal to transfer their shares to an operator on the platform.
Eigen’s CEO stated the following:
“Initially, EigenDA will be the only AVS using the EIGEN core. We expect other AVSs to follow a similar path soon.”
EigenLayer enables new Proof of Stake projects to quickly establish security by connecting to a broader trust network and overcome the challenges of developing their own projects. In 2023, the platform began accepting deposits and has since secured over $15 billion in ETH to safeguard various protocols. AVSs benefiting from EigenLayer’s security can operate across a wide range from consensus protocols to oracle networks and data availability platforms.
EigenLayer’s Token Economy
Eigen token economy dictates that the supply of Eigen tokens will be 1.67 billion at launch. 45% of the token supply is reserved for the network’s community and ecosystem. Of this portion, 15% is allocated to stakers and only 5% will be available in the first season. The demands for these have already started today.
15% of the tokens are reserved for community initiatives and another 15% for the development of the ecosystem. For comparison, 29.5% is allocated to early investors, while 25.5% is given to early contributors.
In response to initial criticisms regarding the non-transferability of a minimum of 10 tokens in the first season, the Eigen Foundation updated its plan by distributing an additional 100 Eigen tokens to more than 280,000 users who interacted with the platform before April 29. This figure translates to a minimum allocation of 110 tokens per eligible user, equivalent to $1,000 based on pre-market valuations.
