One of the most discussed and anticipated token launches of 2024 took place a few hours ago. We are of course talking about EIGEN, the native cryptocurrency behind the most popular Ethereum restaking protocol, EigenLayer.
EIGEN debuts with a fully diluted market capitalization of $7 billion
In an official announcement, the Eigen Foundation revealed the EIGEN Unlock Event.
1/ We are happy to announce the unlocking of the EIGEN token, a big step for the @eigenlayer ecosystem
This opens up new possibilities for open innovation, shared security and network-wide participation.
More ↓ pic.twitter.com/HIG33eyV92
— Eigen Foundation (@eigenfoundation) October 1, 2024
The token was immediately listed and made available for trading on major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, Bybit, OKX, Kraken and more. It is also available on Uniswap v3 decentralized exchange.
At the time of writing, EIGEN is trading above $4, giving it a fully diluted market cap of about $7 billion and a current market cap of about $760 million.
What does it mean for EigenLayer?
Unlocking allows developers to start building Actively Validated Services (AVS) using EIGEN staking. This is important because stakers play an important role in securing AVS and diversifying the use cases of the network.
According to the ad:
Unlocking EIGEN marks the start of a wider commitment. It acts as a catalyst for economic expansion, governance and protocol development, driving growth and strengthening the decentralized ecosystem.
For those unfamiliar, EigenLayer has become one of the best DeFi projects in 2024. It is an Ethereum restaking protocol. Essentially, the network acts as middleware, creating a free and open market where validators and protocols can freely trade bundled values for a set price.
It was founded by Sreeram Kannan in early 2021 and has attracted more than $12 billion in total value locked, according to DeFiLlama.
Source: DeFiLlama SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored) Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive an exclusive welcome offer of $600 to Binance (full details).
2024 LIMITED OFFER on BYDFi Exchange – Up to $2888 Welcome Reward, Use this link to register and open a 100 USDT-M position for free!