- Over $1.8 Billion Potentially Exiting threatening $14.8 Billion TVL
EigenLayer, the leading Ethereum restaking protocol, has faced a wave of user withdrawals following widespread disappointment over its planned EIGEN airdrop. Since the white paper reveal on April 29th, excluding key jurisdictions like the US and Canada, over 12,412 withdrawal requests have flooded the platform.
This exodus began on April 29th, with a surge of over 4,300 daily withdrawals, further escalating to 6,496 on April 30th, as tracked by Dune Analytics. This represents a significant outflow, with 11.6% of EigenLayer’s unique depositors (over 107,000) initiating withdrawals within just three days.
While the individual withdrawal amounts remain unclear, this 11.6% withdrawal queue could potentially slash EigenLayer’s current Total Value Locked (TVL) of $14.8 billion down to just above $13 billion. With a seven-day withdrawal processing period, the full impact of this exodus will unfold in the coming weeks.
Industry experts like Anndy Lian, intergovernmental blockchain expert and author of “NFT: From Zero to Hero,” believe the airdrop exclusion will significantly impact EigenLayer’s TVL. He highlights that excluded regions likely contributed substantially to the protocol’s TVL, and their departure could lead to a substantial decline.
This sentiment is reflected in the wider market, with EigenLayer’s TVL dropping over 4% in the past week. Conversely, its competitor, Karak, has experienced a remarkable 20.5% TVL growth, reaching $439 million and becoming the second-largest Ethereum restaking protocol, according to DefiLlama.
Also Read: EigenLayer: Explained – Boosting Security and Revenue for Ethereum Developers
This rapid growth has fueled speculation that Karak might be the “next EigenLayer,” capitalizing on the airdrop debacle. Beyond the disappointment, Lian points to Karak’s technical advancements and flexible restaking tokens as potential advantages:
“Karak offers unique features like multi-asset restaking and a developer-friendly environment. These could attract developers and users seeking a more versatile restaking platform.”
As the dust settles on EigenLayer’s airdrop controversy, the coming weeks will reveal the full extent of its impact on the protocol’s TVL and its position within the competitive Ethereum restaking landscape.
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