Overview of EigenLayer and Its Active Validation Service Ecosystem

EigenLayer is an innovative technology protocol built on Ethereum that introduces a restaking feature. As of June 5, 2024, the protocol has attracted over 5.309 million ETH for restaking.

Users holding ETH or related liquid assets can re-stake through EigenLayer to earn additional rewards. At the same time, developers can leverage Ethereum's existing validator set and staked ETH to launch new Active Validator Services (AVS). This innovation significantly reduces the complexity of developing new protocols on Ethereum, eliminating the need to build secure infrastructure from scratch.

The core technology of EigenLayer is the Active Verification Service (AVS), which provides a "cloud security verification" protocol for the Web3 ecosystem. AVS refers to systems that require their own distributed validation semantics for verification, such as sidechains, data availability layers, virtual machines, etc. Each AVS is equipped with a set of smart contracts.

On April 9, 2024, EigenLayer launched the operator and AVS modules on the mainnet. As of June 5, 2024, there are 13 active validation service projects and 8 new AVS projects based on Rollup that have gone live.

Main AVS Projects

1. EigenDA: The first AVS project on EigenLayer, developed by EigenLabs.

2. Aethos: Decentralized strategy engine for customizing trading rules.

3. AltLayer: A decentralized Rollup protocol that uses EigenDA to achieve data availability.

4. Blockless: An infrastructure platform for launching, integrating, and protecting network-neutral applications.

5. Drosera Network: A protocol for creating automated monitoring systems for decentralized applications.

6. Espresso: A shared ordering tool that connects Layer 2, enhancing the interoperability of Rollups.

7. Ethos: A secure coordination layer that supports Cosmos.

8. Hyperlane: An interoperability layer for building modular blockchain stacks.

9. Lagrange: Decentralized prover network, launched ZK Coprocessor and State Committees.

10. Near: A blockchain platform with built-in account abstraction and cross-chain interoperability.

11. Omni: An interoperability protocol based on Ethereum for low-latency communication between Rollups.

12. Silence Laboratories: Building a verification library and SDK based on multi-party secure computation.

13. Witness Chain: Transforming the physical attributes of the DePIN network into verifiable digital proofs.

Restaked Rollup Project

Restaked Rollup is a new type of AVS category from EigenLayer that combines multiple services into a single Rollup service. Users can simultaneously receive restaking rewards and utilize multiple service functions. Major projects include:

1. Caldera: A Rollup deployment platform using EigenDA.

2. Celo: Provides a framework for decentralized application development and modular features.

3. Cyber: A modular Layer 2 network focused on the social layer of Web3 applications.

4. LayerN: A Layer 2 network designed to provide a high-performance virtual machine execution environment.

5. Mantle: A modular blockchain network developed by BitDAO.

6. Movement: Includes the modular blockchain networks M1 and M2 that use the Move language.

7. Polymer Labs: A protocol that combines Optimism, Cosmos SDK, and EigenDA.

8. Versatus: The world's first Stateless Rollup, supporting decentralized application development.

The EigenLayer ecosystem is rapidly evolving, bringing new possibilities and innovations to Ethereum. Through re-staking and AVS, it is reshaping the way blockchain infrastructure is built, providing developers and users with more choices and opportunities.