According to the EigenLayer blog, Eigen Labs has announced collaboration with LayerZero Labs to develop a new framework for the CryptoEconomic Distributed Verification Network (DVN). This collaboration leverages LayerZero’s established protocols that have managed millions of messages and protected billions of dollars in applications.
Why EigenLayer x LayerZero?
Eigen Labs and LayerZero Labs aim to build a verifiable Internet across blockchains with permissionless security. The security of OmniChain message verification was previously based solely on the DVN’s verification mechanism. With EigenLayer’s native re-staking feature, anyone can now strengthen CryptoEconomic security by staking assets to provide additional security to DVNs.
EigenLayer: Economic Security
EigenLayer allows participants to secure additional services or applications by staking or re-staking assets they are already securing on protocols such as Ethereum. This model creates a shared security pool that can scale to multiple use cases, incentivizing validators to behave honestly through the threat of punishment for misbehavior.
LayerZero: DVN Marketplace
LayerZero is an omnichain interoperability protocol that enables secure communication across 80+ blockchains. Applications can customize security by selecting a DVN or set of DVNs depending on the sensitivity of the data. There are currently 35 organizations participating as DVNs, including teams like Polyhedra and oracles like Google Cloud. The CryptoEconomic DVN framework allows DVNs to increase trust by transparently demonstrating their trustworthiness through staked assets.
LayerZero Labs: The first cryptoeconomically secure DVN
LayerZero Labs is the first team to launch a CryptoEconomic DVN secured with EigenLayer re-staking. LayerZero Labs DVN, which has historically verified over 100 million messages, is transitioning from a proof-of-authority model to one that supports re-staking. Staked tokens such as ZRO, ETH, and EIGEN provide economic security for message verification. It provides a measurable way to evaluate DVN security as there is a risk of staked tokens being slashed if the DVN fails.
Generalizing the framework for broader use
The CryptoEconomic DVN framework is open and general, allowing any team to design and deploy their own DVN Actively Validated Service (AVS). This flexibility allows applications to create CryptoEconomic DVNs with customized slashing conditions and staking assets according to their specific requirements.
Conclusion: A new era of omnichain verification
Introducing EigenLayer’s re-staking model to omnichain messaging changes the risk profile of deploying applications across multiple chains. Developers can now trust DVN at risk of cuts based on their economic stake. This collaboration marks the beginning of a broader partnership between Eigen Labs and LayerZero Labs, aimed at driving the future of a better Internet built across blockchains.
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