EigenLayer announced today that its re-staking agreement has officially launched on the Ethereum mainnet. This release also includes the launch of EigenDA, a Data Availability (DA) service provided by the EigenLayer team. EigenDA aims to assist other blockchain protocols in storing transaction data and other information and is one of the Active Validation Services (AVS).
Through a process called re-staking, EigenLayer allows ETH stakers on the Ethereum network to delegate their staked tokens to specific operators who can choose to run different AVSs such as EigenDA, Altlayer, Near, and more.
Key new features included in this mainnet launch are as follows:
– Stakers: Token stakers can delegate their entire staked amount to their chosen operators.
– Operators: EigenLayer has opened registration for operators and allows them to choose which specific service to run in the network, such as EigenDA.
– AVSs (Active Validation Services): EigenLayer now allows registration for AVSs other than EigenDA. AVSs are middleware, services, chains, networks, and PoS systems operated by operators with ETH security support provided by stakers through re-staking.
However, despite the launch of EigenLayer and EigenDA on the mainnet, there are still some limitations on certain functionalities, such as payment and slashing mechanisms between AVSs and operators. This means that some economic incentives and penalty mechanisms have not been fully implemented yet to stabilize the market.
Additionally, it is emphasized that although the delegation process is non-custodial (operators do not hold stakers’ stakes), the EigenLayer protocol does not guarantee that all operators will correctly operate the AVS software. This means that stakers need to carefully consider their choice of operators when delegating their stakes.
