EigenLayer 2024 Year in Review: Building the Future of Open Innovation
2024 was a monumental year for EigenLayer.
Since launching our first staking contracts in June 2023, and following the full mainnet deployment of the EigenLayer protocol in April 2024, we’ve made great strides toward our vision of building coordination engines for driving open innovation.
We launched the EigenLayer protocol, which introduced restaking, a powerful new primitive enhancing and scaling crypto-economic security.
We built the Eigen Ecosystem, the fastest growing (fastest dev ecosystem according to Electric report) ecosystem of builders, stakers, and operators.
We bootstrapped the Eigen Economy, an open marketplace for innovation built on top of EigenLayer, creating billions of dollars of value.
We introduced the EIGEN Token and scaled the Eigen Foundation.
We introduced EigenGov and the Protocol Council, essential steps forward in establishing the ecosystem's governance framework.
Here's a look at what we've accomplished together this year and how we’re shaping the industry's future.
What We’ve Done
Protocol Accomplishments
Ecosystem Accomplishments
- Fastest-Growing Developer Ecosystem: EigenLayer was recognized as the fastest-growing developer ecosystem in 2024 (source: Developer Report).
- Thriving AVS Landscape:
- 130+ Active AVSs in development or in testnet
- 29 Mainnet AVS driving innovation and ecosystem development
- Integrations: Collaborations with 14 major partners, including Consensys (DIN), LayerZero, and RiscZero.
- Community Growth:
- ~200,000 Discord members and a vibrant forum with over 8,500 users.
- ~400,000+ Twitter followers across EigenLayer, EigenDA, and BuildonEigen
Ecosystem Accomplishments
Token & Eigen Foundation Milestones
The EIGEN token launch marked the beginning of a new era in infrastructure innovation:
Season 1 Achievements:
- 113M EIGEN distributed to 280,000+ community members
- 88% of tokens staked and delegated immediately
- Eigen Foundation established itself as the EigenLayer ecosystem steward
Season 2 Distribution:
- 70M EIGEN allocated to Stakers and Operators
- 10M EIGEN fueling Ecosystem Partners
- 6M EIGEN empowering Community initiatives
At the conclusion of the Season 2 stakedrop, we recognized the contributions of 110 incredible ecosystem partners building across AVSs, infrastructure tooling, and core protocol integrations.
Since then, we’ve more than doubled (and growing) the number of partners developing in the EigenLayer ecosystem!
Programmatic Incentives
Following Season 1 and 2 Stakedrop, we released Programmatic Incentives, a significant milestone for EigenLayer and the broader restaking ecosystem as we transitioned from retroactive incentives (points and stakedrops) towards continuous liquid rewards via Programmatic Incentives, ultimately creating a market for price discovery of shared security.
Since Programmatic Incentives launched in October 2024:
- 24,460,000+ EIGEN was rewarded and made eligible for claims
- 140,000+ Restakers qualified to earn Programmatic Incentives v1
Governance Evolution
November marked a crucial milestone with the launch of the EigenGov framework:
- Established council-based coordination engine
- Implemented community-driven oversight
- Developed Core/Vision development tracks
- Activated Protocol Council with 5 expert members and 3-of-5 community multisig
- Launched ELIP framework
Ethereum Ecosystem Impact
The Eigen Foundation strengthened core Ethereum infrastructure:
- Committed 1% of EIGEN supply (~16.7M tokens) to Protocol Guild
- Supported 180+ Ethereum core developers
- Backed 29 teams building L1's critical infrastructure
How
Our Values
- Unreasonable Goals: From launching mainnet to onboarding tens of thousands of restakers reaching $20B+ in TVL, we’ve set ambitious targets and achieved them.
- Relentless Execution: Our team’s dedication has driven the rapid rollout of major upgrades and ecosystem growth in under 12 months.
- Unparalleled Win-Wins: By aligning incentives across developers, operators, stakers, and partners, we’ve created a thriving ecosystem where everyone succeeds together - infinite sum games.
Why
Driving Open Innovation
EigenLayer exists to build a future of open innovation—a world where infrastructure is modular, decentralized, and interoperable, enabling participants to create, collaborate, and scale freely. By empowering developers, operators, and stakers, we’re unlocking new avenues for trustless coordination and economic opportunity on Ethereum and beyond.
Where
EigenLayer is a global effort.
In 2024, the EigenLayer Ecosystem and Economy expanded to over 100+ countries.
EigenLayer's vision resonated across continents through strategic events:
- AVS Day Brussels: Partnered with Consensys to host 25 pioneering AVS teams and 150 ecosystem builders
- Token2049 Singapore & Dubai: Collaborated with Eigen Labs and Eigen Foundation to present restaking revolution keynote and LayerZero DVN framework launch
- MegaZu Thailand: 30-day innovation hub focusing on consumer applications and infrastructure development
- Devcon – AVS Day Bangkok: Featured live AVS demonstrations and ecosystem deep-dives with Consensys and AltLayer
Who
Eigen Labs: Grew from 38 to 95 team members this year, as core developers of the EigenLayer protocol.
Eigen Foundation: Announced to the world in April 2024, the Eigen Foundation now boasts a dedicated team of ~30 people driving governance and ecosystem initiatives helping steward the growth and decentralization of the EigenLayer ecosystem.
EigenLayer Ecosystem: Our accomplishments wouldn’t be possible without the incredible developers, stakers, operators, AVSs, and partners who make up the EigenLayer Ecosystem.
2024 has been an extraordinary year, and we’re just getting started.
As we look to 2025, we’re excited to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in open innovation. Thank you for being part of this journey.
Together, we’re building the future.
Be Eigen.
