EigenLayer (EIGEN) Launches on Major Exchanges: Key Insights

A highly talked-about and eagerly awaited token launch of 2024 occurred just a few hours ago. We are referring to EIGEN – the native cryptocurrency associated with EigenLayer, the leading restaking protocol on Ethereum.

EIGEN Launches with a $7bn Fully-Diluted Market Cap

The Eigen Foundation made an official announcement regarding the EIGEN unlocking event.

1/ We’re excited to unveil the unlocking of the EIGEN token, an important milestone for the @eigenlayer ecosystem.

This opens up new avenues for open innovation, shared security, and engagement throughout the network.

More ↓ pic.twitter.com/HIG33eyV92

— Eigen Foundation (@eigenfoundation) October 1, 2024

The token was promptly listed and is now available for trading on major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, Bybit, OKX, Kraken, and others. Additionally, it can be traded on the Uniswap v3 decentralized exchange.

At the time of writing, EIGEN is trading above $4, resulting in a fully diluted market cap of approximately $7bn and a current market capitalization of about $760 million.

Implications for EigenLayer

This unlock enables developers to commence the creation of Actively Validated Services (AVSs) using EIGEN staking. This is crucial as stakers contribute significantly to the security of AVSs and the diversification of the network’s use cases.

According to the announcement:

The unlock of EIGEN signifies the start of wider engagement. It serves as a catalyst for economic growth, governance, and protocol development, fostering expansion and reinforcing the decentralized ecosystem.

For those unfamiliar, EigenLayer has rapidly become one of the leading DeFi projects in 2024. It functions as an Ethereum restaking protocol, effectively acting as middleware that facilitates a free and open marketplace where validators and protocols can trade pooled securities at specified rates.

Founded by Sreeram Kannan in early 2021, it has garnered over $12 billion in total value locked, according to DeFiLlama.