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What Is EigenCloud?

EigenCloud (formerly EigenLayer) is a protocol built on Ethereum that introduces the concept of "restaking," enabling staked ETH to simultaneously secure multiple services beyond the Ethereum base layer. Traditionally, each new blockchain service or middleware requiring validation (such as oracle networks, bridges, or data availability layers) needs to bootstrap its own set of validators and economic security. EigenLayer eliminates this by allowing Ethereum stakers to opt-in to securing additional services with their already-staked ETH, creating a shared security marketplace.

EigenLayer was founded by Sreeram Kannan, a professor at the University of Washington, and is developed by Eigen Labs. The project raised over $241 million in venture funding and launched its mainnet in stages throughout 2024. The protocol has attracted tens of billions of dollars in restaked assets, making it one of the largest protocols by TVL in the Ethereum ecosystem.

The core innovation is Actively Validated Services (AVS). An AVS is any system that requires its own distributed validation semantics, such as oracle networks, cross-chain bridges, sequencing services, keeper networks, or data availability layers. Instead of building an independent validator set from scratch, an AVS can leverage EigenLayer's pool of restaked ETH for security. Operators who run AVS software earn additional rewards for their service, while exposing their staked ETH to additional slashing conditions if they misbehave.

The architecture involves three key participants: restakers, operators, and AVS developers. Restakers deposit their staked ETH (either natively or through liquid staking tokens like stETH) into EigenLayer smart contracts. Operators are entities that register with EigenLayer and opt-in to validate specific AVSs, running the required node software. AVS developers build the services that consume EigenLayer's shared security, defining the validation logic and slashing conditions for their particular use case.

EigenDA (EigenLayer Data Availability) is the first AVS built on EigenLayer and serves as a high-throughput data availability service for Ethereum rollups. EigenDA offers significantly lower data availability costs compared to posting data directly to Ethereum, while still deriving security from Ethereum's validator set through restaking. Several Layer 2 rollups have integrated EigenDA as their data availability backend.

The EIGEN token was launched in 2024 with a novel "intersubjective staking" mechanism. While restaked ETH provides security against objectively attributable faults (behavior that can be mathematically proven on-chain), EIGEN is designed to handle intersubjective faults, which are failures that are obvious to observers but difficult to prove in a smart contract. EIGEN stakers can participate in social consensus to resolve disputes that cannot be settled purely through on-chain logic.

Liquid restaking protocols have emerged as an additional layer on top of EigenLayer. Projects like EtherFi, Renzo, Puffer, Kelp, and others accept user deposits and restake them through EigenLayer, issuing liquid restaking tokens (LRTs) in return. These LRTs allow users to maintain liquidity while earning restaking rewards, and have become significant assets in the broader DeFi ecosystem with integrations across lending protocols, DEXs, and yield platforms like Pendle.

EigenLayer's permissionless design allows anyone to create a new AVS and tap into the shared security pool without needing permission from Eigen Labs. This creates an open marketplace where security demand from AVSs meets security supply from restakers, with operators acting as intermediaries who run the required software. The protocol takes a fee on rewards flowing through the system.

Getting Started With EigenCloud

Getting started with EigenCloud as a restaker:

  1. Step 1: Set up an Ethereum wallet such as MetaMask and ensure you have staked ETH (stETH, rETH, cbETH) or native ETH.
  2. Step 2: Visit the EigenCloud app and connect your wallet.
  3. Step 3: Deposit your liquid staking tokens or native ETH into EigenCloud to begin restaking.
  4. Step 4: Delegate your restaked assets to an operator who validates AVSs you want to support.
  5. Step 5: Earn restaking rewards from the AVSs your chosen operator validates, in addition to your base staking yield.

Alternatively, users can restake through liquid restaking protocols (EtherFi, Renzo, Puffer, Kelp) to receive liquid restaking tokens while earning EigenCloud rewards. This approach maintains liquidity and often provides additional incentives from the LRT protocol itself.

How to Get an EigenCloud Wallet?

MetaMask

MetaMask is the most commonly used wallet for interacting with EigenCloud. It supports Ethereum mainnet where EigenCloud operates, and can hold EIGEN tokens as well as various liquid restaking tokens.

Rabby Wallet

Rabby provides clear transaction simulation and portfolio tracking, making it easy to manage EigenCloud positions and see restaking rewards. It integrates well with the EigenCloud app interface.

Hardware Wallets

Ledger and Trezor hardware wallets are highly recommended for EigenCloud users given the significant value often involved in restaking positions. Connect through MetaMask or Rabby for the best security.

Coinbase Wallet

Coinbase Wallet supports EIGEN as an ERC-20 token and can interact with the EigenCloud app for restaking operations.

EigenCloud Resources

How to Buy EigenCloud?

Centralized Exchanges

EIGEN is available on major exchanges including Binance, Coinbase, OKX, Bybit, Kraken, and others. Common trading pairs include EIGEN/USDT, EIGEN/BTC, and EIGEN/USD. The token became transferable and tradeable in late 2024 after an initial non-transferable period.

Decentralized Exchanges

EIGEN can be traded on Uniswap and other Ethereum-based DEXs. Ensure you have ETH for gas fees. Check that you are interacting with the correct EIGEN token contract address to avoid scam tokens.

Note that holding EIGEN is separate from restaking. To participate in restaking and earn AVS rewards, users need to deposit staked ETH (or native ETH) into EigenCloud's restaking contracts. The EIGEN token itself serves governance and intersubjective staking functions.

Latest EigenCloud News

In mid-2025, Eigen Labs rebranded the project to EigenCloud, integrating EigenDA, EigenVerify, and EigenCompute under a unified product umbrella. The rebrand reflects the protocol's evolution from a restaking primitive into a full-stack verifiable cloud platform for decentralized applications. In March 2026, Eigen Labs launched the beta of AgentKit, a framework for building verifiable AI agents on EigenCloud.

In April 2026, Kelp DAO, one of the largest liquid restaking protocols built on EigenLayer, suffered an exploit of its rsETH token worth approximately $292 million. The exploit targeted Kelp's own contracts rather than the core EigenCloud restaking protocol, but it shook confidence in the restaking sector and triggered an estimated $5 billion in withdrawals from restaking protocols in the weeks that followed. The episode underscored the layered risks of liquid restaking, where users are exposed to the smart contract security of both the underlying protocol and the LRT provider on top of it.