EigenLayer sees over 12,000 queued withdrawals. How far will TVL fall?

As a researcher, I find the recent turn of events at EigenLayer concerning. The mass withdrawal requests following the announcement of their EIGEN airdrop, which excluded several key economic jurisdictions, has left a significant impact on the protocol’s Total Value Locked (TVL). With over 12,412 withdrawals in just three days, representing around 11.6% of unique depositors, the TVL is set to decrease significantly.


As a researcher studying the Ethereum blockchain ecosystem, I’ve come across EigenLayer, which is known as the largest decentralized staking protocol on the network. Recently, there have been over 12,412 withdrawal requests submitted to this platform due to widespread disappointment among its community regarding the planned EIGEN airdrop.

On April 29, there were over 4,336 daily withdrawal requests from EigenLayer, which increased to 6,496 the following day based on Dune Analytics’ data.

Over the last three days, ending on May 1st, the restaking protocol processed approximately 12,412 withdrawal requests. This came shortly after EigenLayer published a white paper for its upcoming EIGEN token on April 29th. Nevertheless, individuals from certain countries such as the United States, Canada, and numerous African and Asian nations were unable to participate in the airdrop.

Approximately 11.6% of the more than 107,000 distinct depositters using EigenLayer have withdrawn their funds in the last three days, based on data from Dune.

As a researcher examining EigenLayer’s data, I’ve discovered that approximately 11.6% of the pending withdrawals could potentially impact the platform’s current total value locked (TVL) of $14.8 billion. If this percentage were to be realized, the TVL would decrease to around $13 billion.

Due to EigenLayer imposing a week-long waiting period for withdrawals, it may take several weeks before the impact of numerous withdrawal requests is noticeable.

As a researcher studying the impact of EigenLayer’s airdrop policies, I have observed widespread disappointment following the ban of certain key economic jurisdictions from participating. This disappointment could potentially influence the Total Value Locked (TVL) in the protocol, as some potential contributors may choose to redirect their resources or interest towards other projects.

“Participants from these regions might have contributed significantly to EigenLayer’s TVL. Their exclusion could lead to a decrease in the overall TVL, especially if they were actively restaking their assets.”

Airdrop farmers are searching for new restaking protocols

Over the past week, EigenLayer’s total value locked (TVL) decreased by approximately 4%. In contrast, Karak experienced a significant growth of around 20.5%, reaching a TVL of over $439 million. As a result, Karak is now the second largest decentralized finance (DeFi) staking platform on Ethereum, according to DefiLlama’s latest data.

Due to the swift expansion of the latest staking protocol by Karak, there have been whispers in the crypto community that this project may potentially surpass EigenLayer’s position, given the controversy surrounding the EIGEN airdrop incident.

According to Lian, despite the underwhelming airdrop, Karak provides enhanced technical advantages for users and introduces more adaptable staking tokens.

“Karak introduces unique technical features such as multi-asset restaking and a plug-and-play development environment. These could provide Karak with an edge in attracting developers and users seeking a more versatile restaking platform.”

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2024-05-01 11:21