Agents are starting to make progress on problems humans left untouched for decades.
The next step is letting them work in the open, where every gain is visible and the next solver can build on it.
Circuit Breaker is live on @YukonResearch
https://t.co/KZXU5Aw0Wi
3.3/ 5
Our score
Fair
Type
Restaking
Audited
Yes
What is EigenLayer?
EigenLayer is an Ethereum restaking protocol and the cryptoeconomic security layer for EigenCloud. It gives applications access to more than $10 billion in staked ETH, 39,000+ active stakers and 350+ active operators. Its total value locked was about $6.25 billion on October 17, 2026.
Who is behind it
Eigen Labs develops EigenLayer. Sreeram Kannan is the founder and CEO. He is a former University of Washington professor whose research covers blockchain, cryptography and information theory. Eigen Labs raised a $50 million Series A led by Blockchain Capital in March 2023, a $100 million Series B led by a16z crypto in February 2024, and a $70 million EIGEN token purchase by a16z crypto in June 2025. The wider platform was rebranded as EigenCloud in June 2025.
How restaking works
Stakers can restake ETH, Ethereum liquid staking tokens and EIGEN through EigenLayer on Ethereum. Operators run infrastructure for services that use the protocol, putting restaked capital behind their commitments. Misconduct can trigger slashing. Slashed funds can be routed to affected users or a treasury instead of being burned, depending on the service's rules.
The system supports EigenDA, a data-availability service, and EigenCompute, an off-chain execution and verification service. Applications can set their own economic stake and decentralization requirements. The protocol is live on Ethereum mainnet.
Fees and access
Stakeable assets include ETH, ETH liquid staking tokens and EIGEN. Staking also exposes capital to smart-contract and operator risk.
Track record and risks
Slashing went live on mainnet in April 2025, followed by redistribution in 2025. The protocol's audited materials are available in its security documentation. Its reported TVL reached an all-time high of $22.063 billion on August 14, 2025, before standing at about $6.25 billion on October 17, 2026.
Restaking layers additional obligations onto ETH and liquid staking positions. Risks include slashing and smart-contract failure. EIGEN exposure adds token risk, while service-specific rules can affect rewards. Those rules also govern penalties and access to withdrawn funds.
Founders
Sreeram KannanFounder and CEO
Former University of Washington professor whose research spans blockchain, cryptography and information theory.
Best for:Ethereum restakersEigenCloud service operatorsApplications needing slashable securityETH and LST holders
Pros and cons
Pros
- Supports ETH, Ethereum LSTs and EIGEN restaking
- Connects applications with 350+ active operators
- Slashing creates financial accountability for service commitments
- Audited security materials are available
- Live on Ethereum mainnet
Cons
- Restaking adds slashing exposure beyond ordinary ETH staking
- Only Ethereum is listed as a supported chain
- EIGEN exposure adds token price risk
Our review
3.3/5
Fair
EigenLayer gives applications access to substantial restaked security, but layered slashing and withdrawal risks make it less straightforward than ordinary staking.
EigenLayer is a restaking protocol under Eigen Labs. It lets holders of ETH, ETH liquid staking tokens, and EIGEN provide economic security to services running on Ethereum. The protocol reports more than $10 billion in staked ETH, 39,000+ active stakers, and 350+ active operators. Total value locked was about $6.25 billion on October 17, 2026.
Ordinary staking secures Ethereum, while EigenLayer lets the same capital back additional services such as EigenDA and other verifiable applications. Slashing went live on mainnet on April 17, 2025, and redistribution can route slashed funds to affected users or a treasury instead of burning them. That gives applications a defined penalty mechanism, although it also adds another layer of smart contract and operational risk.
The staking model is restaking rather than liquid staking in its own right. ETH, ETH liquid staking tokens, and EIGEN are listed as stakeable assets, with Ethereum as the supported chain.
Security has documented mechanisms and an audit section in the project documentation. Operators include Google, Coinbase, Infura, and more than 350 others, while the protocol's design puts capital at risk for misbehavior.
Eigen Labs is led by founder and CEO Sreeram Kannan, a former University of Washington professor whose research covers blockchain, cryptography, and information theory. The company raised a $100 million Series B led by a16z crypto and a further $70 million EIGEN purchase by a16z crypto. EigenLayer suits stakers who accept additional contract and slashing exposure in exchange for securing services.
Specs
| Type | Restaking |
|---|---|
| Stakeable assets | ETH, ETH LSTs, EIGEN |
| Chains | Ethereum |
| Node operators | 350+ active operators · unverified |
| Audited | Yes |
| Restaking | Yes · unverified |
| Slashing cover | Yes · unverified |
Not disclosed by the provider: KYC required, Receipt token, Protocol fee, Minimum stake, Withdrawal time, Typical reward rate.
Data from the provider's website and public sources. Fees and availability change; confirm on the official site before you sign up.
Key features
ETH restaking
Restakes ETH on Ethereum to provide economic security for connected services.
LST restaking
Supports Ethereum liquid staking tokens alongside ETH and EIGEN as stakeable assets.
Operator network
More than 350 active operators run infrastructure and accept service-specific commitments.
Slashable security
Operators and stakers can lose capital when they fail to meet an application's obligations.
Fund redistribution
Slashed funds can be directed to affected users, a treasury or reliable operators.
EigenDA security
EigenDA uses EigenLayer's restaking layer as part of its data-availability service.
Custom security rules
Applications can set economic stake and decentralization requirements for their own services.
Inside EigenLayer
EigenLayer
EigenLayer is the restaking protocol and cryptoeconomic security foundation for EigenCloud. Stakers and operators provide slashable economic security to services and applications on Ethereum.
Slashing
Slashing penalizes operators or stakers that fail to meet application commitments. The mechanism went live on EigenLayer mainnet on April 17, 2025.
Redistribution
The service can route slashed funds to affected users, a treasury, or other recipients.
EigenDA
EigenDA is a data-availability service in the EigenCloud suite. Its security foundation comes from EigenLayer restaking.
EigenCompute
EigenCompute is an off-chain execution and verification service in the EigenCloud suite. It uses EigenCloud's verifiable infrastructure model.
User reviews
No user reviews yet. Have you used EigenLayer? Share your experience below.
Funding and investors
$220MTotal raised
5Rounds
11Investors
-
EIGEN token purchase Jun 2025 $70MSource
-
Private Feb 2024 $100M
-
Series B Feb 2024 $100M
-
Series A Mar 2023 $50M
-
Funding round Amount undisclosed
FAQ
Who founded EigenLayer?
Sreeram Kannan founded EigenLayer and is its CEO. He is a former University of Washington professor whose research covers blockchain, cryptography, and information theory.
What assets can be restaked on EigenLayer?
EigenLayer lists ETH, ETH liquid staking tokens, and EIGEN as stakeable assets. The protocol operates on Ethereum.
Does EigenLayer have a token?
Yes. The protocol token is EIGEN, and EIGEN is listed as a stakeable asset.
Is EigenLayer available on mainnet?
Yes. EigenLayer is live on Ethereum mainnet, with slashing live since April 17, 2025.
How does slashing work on EigenLayer?
Slashing penalizes operators or stakers when they fail to meet an application's commitments. Slashed funds can be routed to affected users, a treasury, or other recipients through redistribution.
What is EigenLayer used for?
EigenLayer lets stakers and operators provide slashable economic security to verifiable applications and services. EigenDA is one service in the wider EigenCloud suite.
Latest from EigenLayer on X
Our Chief Growth Officer @jt_rose lays out the clearest case yet for where EIGEN sits in the AI economy.
- Darkbloom turns Macs people already own into paid inference capacity.
- Yukon turns open research into improvements contributors share in.
EIGEN is the onchain layer connecting both, so everyday people can take part in the AI economy alongside the hyperscalers.
- Darkbloom turns Macs people already own into paid inference capacity.
- Yukon turns open research into improvements contributors share in.
EIGEN is the onchain layer connecting both, so everyday people can take part in the AI economy alongside the hyperscalers.
If there's one thing in crypto you should be paying close attention to, it's this!
Making the cryptography securing BTC, ETH and ZEC quantum-safe.
And it needs to be solved in the open.
On @YukonResearch.
Making the cryptography securing BTC, ETH and ZEC quantum-safe.
And it needs to be solved in the open.
On @YukonResearch.
Get started here: https://t.co/9pWacRY8CP
Aztec x Yukon: CurveSmash challenge is LIVE
Your wallet runs on math that quantum computers will eventually break.
https://t.co/A9seg0xvNs puts AI to work attacking that math in public, so holders learn how much time is left before anyone else does.
Cryptographers check every result.
Your wallet runs on math that quantum computers will eventually break.
https://t.co/A9seg0xvNs puts AI to work attacking that math in public, so holders learn how much time is left before anyone else does.
Cryptographers check every result.
Recent public posts from @eigencloud, shown as published. Not reviewed or endorsed by CryptoReview.
Latest from EigenLayer on Telegram
EigenCloud - Join Portal
Join
@EigenCloudSupp · 547 subscribers
PostAGI, the new podcast powered by Eigen, is live.
The first episode is a wide-ranging conversation with economist @alexolegimas on the economics of AI.
Watch the full episode here.
The first episode is a wide-ranging conversation with economist @alexolegimas on the economics of AI.
Watch the full episode here.
502 View on Telegram
Edition #063 of the Eigen Times is live.
This week, an open network of agents and builders took a quantum circuit benchmark Google deliberately withheld, surpassed it, and pushed 36.3% past it in under a week. The leaderboard is still moving at https://www.ecdsa.fail/
EigenCloud builders also shipped verifiable memory coordination, a decentralized agent marketplace, and eigen-skills v4. Big week all around.
Read the full edition here.
This week, an open network of agents and builders took a quantum circuit benchmark Google deliberately withheld, surpassed it, and pushed 36.3% past it in under a week. The leaderboard is still moving at https://www.ecdsa.fail/
EigenCloud builders also shipped verifiable memory coordination, a decentralized agent marketplace, and eigen-skills v4. Big week all around.
Read the full edition here.
460 View on Telegram
Anons beat Google in 72 hours.
Sreeram just published the full story of what happened after we opened the Quantum ECC Addition Challenge to the public.
This is the clearest early proof of what we call Open Agentic Research.
Read it here.
Sreeram just published the full story of what happened after we opened the Quantum ECC Addition Challenge to the public.
This is the clearest early proof of what we call Open Agentic Research.
Read it here.
514 View on Telegram
Big news from the team.
A 23-year-old on our team with no quantum training just broke a record on one of the most important quantum cryptography benchmarks in the world using AI agents. Over one weekend, an 18-year-old followed it up by reaching 80% of Google's unpublished quantum breakthrough with a custom agent swarm.
The platform is live at ecdsa.fail.
Anyone can point their agents at it and keep pushing.
Check the announcement Tweet.
Full writeup here.
A 23-year-old on our team with no quantum training just broke a record on one of the most important quantum cryptography benchmarks in the world using AI agents. Over one weekend, an 18-year-old followed it up by reaching 80% of Google's unpublished quantum breakthrough with a custom agent swarm.
The platform is live at ecdsa.fail.
Anyone can point their agents at it and keep pushing.
Check the announcement Tweet.
Full writeup here.
485 View on Telegram
Recent posts from the official Telegram channel @EigenCloudSupp, shown as published. Not reviewed or endorsed by CryptoReview.
Alternatives to EigenLayer
Solana liquid staking infrastructure powering over 1,300 custom LSTs with pooled liquidity
Liquid stakingSolanaAudited
Solana liquid and native staking protocol automating delegation across validators since 2021
No KYCLiquid staking · Native stakingSolanaAudited
Solana liquid staking protocol capturing MEV rewards with over $1B in TVL
No KYCLiquid stakingSolanaAudited
Decentralized Ethereum liquid staking backed by permissionless node operators and a 0.01 ETH minimum
No KYCLiquid stakingEthereumAudited
Liquid staking protocol on Hyperliquid issuing kHYPE with over $860M in TVL
No KYCLiquid stakingHyperliquidAudited
Ethereum liquid staking with 600+ node operators and a 10% rewards fee
Liquid stakingEthereumAudited