In the cryptocurrency industry, Total Locked Value (TVL) is a crucial parameter that investors and traders typically observe before making short or long-term investments. Recently, on February 9, 2024, EigenLayer, a restaking protocol, gathered significant attention from crypto enthusiasts as its TVL surged by 171% in the past 7 days.
The reason why, EigenLayer TVL surge
According to Defillama, the current TVL of EigenLayer is approximately $5.66 billion. In addition to these TVL surges, EigenLayer surpassed Uniswap and became the fifth-largest TVL protocol. This remarkable increase in TVL value is attributed to its intriguing restaking feature, which represents a new primitive in cryptoeconomics security. This primitive allows crypto users to reuse ETH on the consensus layer.
EigenLayer’s security strategy is different from traditional proof-of-stake blockchains that issue new tokens for validators. In EigenLayer, validators have the flexibility to select Actively Validated Services (AVSs) that align with their preferences.
For users looking to contribute to EigenLayer’s security, the process involves depositing their existing native or liquid-staked ETH into the network’s smart contracts. This makes them eligible for additional rewards while subjecting them to cutting conditions if they violate the network’s rules, ensuring a commitment to maintaining the integrity of the system.
EigenLayer’s strategic move not only extends the economic security of the network but also provides a route for users to earn extra rewards on tokens that might otherwise be dormant in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
Which token can be restake on EigenLayer?
According to its official website, EigenLayer allows crypto users to restake Binance Staked Ether (wBETH), Stader Staked Ether (ETHx), Swell Staked Ether (swETH), Coinbase Staked Ether (cbETH), and many others. Currently, 2.36 million ETH are restaked on EigenLayer, a substantial number.
However, the protocol with the highest TVL value is Lido, standing at approximately $23.52 billion. WBTC holds the second-highest TVL value at $7.25 billion, and the third protocol is JustLend with a TVL value of around $6.5 billion. It’s worth noting that all these cited protocols belong to different categories; Lido offers Liquid Staking, WBTC offers Bridge, and JustLend offers Lending.
