EigenLayer’s developer, Eigen Labs, has deployed a “major update” to its restaking protocol aimed at “making native (Ether) restaking on EigenLayer easier and more rewarding,” according to a September 4 blog post.
This upgrade is designed to improve the performance of so-called EigenPods, EigenLayer’s re-staking smart contracts for Ether (ETH) staked on Ethereum’s Beacon Chain, and is designed to give users greater flexibility when harvesting or reinvesting their staking rewards.
“EigenPod users can now re-stake beacon chain ETH rewards on top of their existing EigenPod balance by completing a checkpoint,” Eigen Labs said. “Beacon chain rewards are automatically re-staked to EigenLayer, allowing re-stakers to earn additional rewards.”
According to the post, the upgrade is also aimed at improving EigenLayer’s user interface.
The upgrade includes UI changes. Source: Eigen Labs
relevant: EigenDA from EigenLayer supports Layer 2 native token re-staking.
Re-staking involves taking already staked tokens (posting them as collateral to validators for rewards) and using them to secure another protocol at the same time. According to DefiLlama, EigenLayer currently has a total locked value (TVL) of approximately $11.5 billion.
EigenLayer supports a growing constellation of “Actively Validated Services” (AVS), which are secured protocols using EigenLayer’s reacquired ETH. The largest EigenLayer AVS include EigenDA, Lagrange State Committees, and the ARPA network.
EigenDA, EigenLayer’s data availability protocol, is the first and largest AVS launched on EigenLayer. According to the EigenLayer website, it is secured by approximately 3.5 million staked ETH contributed by over 123,000 stakers.
In August, EigenDA started supporting restaking of native tokens for the Layer 2 scaling network in addition to ETH and the native EIGEN token of EigenLayer.
According to an August 26 post on X Platform, “The team can now re-stake ERC-20 tokens to secure a custom quorum for rollups, providing stronger security for rollup users and token yields for token holders.”
Restaking will eventually become mainstream, but the returns are still speculative and the risks are uncertain, Mike Silagadze, CEO of liquid restaking protocol Ether.fi, said on August 13.
“The only way this makes sense in the long run is if the restaking network acquires customers, and those customers then pay for services provided by other restaking networks, either directly or indirectly,” Silagaje said. “But on the other hand, I think it’s inevitable.”
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