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After all, the EigenLayer airdrop is happening, but it won’t include VPN and US users – DL News
- EigenLayer will issue a token called EIGEN.
- Billions flowed into the protocol, fueled in part by speculation about airdrops.
- Representatives previously stated that “there is no token.”
After months of telling frustrated investors that “there is no token,” EigenLayer’s parent company, Eigen Labs, released details of an upcoming token on Monday.
Dubbed EIGEN, the token will be distributed in a series of airdrops, and 15% has been set aside for people who used EigenLayer to “take back” the tokens.
But users in dozens of countries are banned from applying for EIGEN tokens. These countries include the United States, China, Russia and Canada.
Eigen Labs will also block people using virtual private networks, or VPNs, from requesting tokens. VPNs have been a popular tool for users looking to bypass location-based restrictions on crypto activity.
Launched last year in June, EigenLayer has quickly become the second largest protocol in decentralized finance, with over $15 billion in user deposits.
Airdrop speculation fueled EigenLayer’s meteoric rise.
Autostratus pioneer the concept of restaging: using the same capital and hardware to run multiple protocols. Previously, Ether could be used to secure the Ethereum blockchain. With EigenLayer, it can be used to secure Ethereum and a variety of protocols that would otherwise require bespoke blockchains, such as oracles and bridges.
Proponents believe it has the potential to transform Ethereum and recently Eigen Labs lifted up $100 million from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
But the hype was also fueled by speculation that Eigen Labs would release a token and set aside part of the token supply for early adopters of EigenLayer.
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This is because EigenLayer has rewarded “points” to depositors. Similar points programs have been used by other crypto projects to determine token allocation during airdrops.
Protocols like Pendle have boomed on this premise, allowing users to trade points and bet on the price of a future EigenLayer token.
But Eigen Labs was coy. When moderators of the company’s Discord channel were asked what plans were for a future airdrop, they responded with something that became something of a mantra: “There is no token.”
That speculation was rewarded with Monday’s announcement.
Airdrop plans
The first 5% of EIGEN tokens will be distributed among people who have restated via EigenLayer or a liquid restake protocol such as Ether.Fi before March 15th. They will be able to request their token assignment starting May 10th.
A tenth of the initial allocation will be reserved for “people who have interacted with EigenLayer in more complex ways.” That group could include people who have used DeFi protocols like Pendelaccording to Eigen Labs.
People requesting the token will not be able to send it to other crypto wallets.
“Some milestones are expected to be achieved in the coming months before EIGEN becomes transferable and divisible,” the company said.
The token will be used in the EigenLayer ecosystem to enforce rules that cannot be automatically tracked by blockchain-based applications, Eigen Labs said. This should allow the creation of new protocols on EigenLayer.
“Some potential use cases include transaction orders, databases, storage services, oracles, AI processors, and much more,” Eigen Labs said in documents detailing the airdrop.
The token will have a supply of 1.6 billion at launch, but its supply will be dynamic.
“Although an initial issuance schedule has not yet been determined or implemented, in the first few years it is expected that the token supply will be inflationary and allocated via protocol mechanisms for the exclusive benefit of the EigenLayer community,” according to a blog send detailing EIGEN tokenomics.
Nearly 30% was set aside for Eigen Labs investors, and about a quarter of the tokens were allocated to “early contributors.” Investors and early contributors will not be able to sell their tokens for three years. Starting in 2027, 4% of their tokens will be unlocked every month.
Another 15% has been set aside for the newly formed Eigen Foundation and “future community initiatives”.
The Eigen Foundation is an “independent, shareholder-free entity dedicated to accelerating the growth of the EigenLayer ecosystem.”
The foundation will fund the grant programs and the development of the EigenLayer protocol.
Aleks Gilbert is a DeFi correspondent based in New York. Do you have advice? Email him at aleks@dlnews.com.