EigenLayer Records $4.5B Inflows Post Staking Cap Removal

Liquid restaking platform EigenLayer attracted an impressive $4.5 billion in fresh inflows within last10 days.

EigenLayer's surge in inflows can be traced back to a strategic decision—the removal of its staking cap on February 5. 

This move, as outlined in a recent blog post, was a deliberate effort to "invite organic demand" into the protocol. The impact was swift, with over 1 million ETH flowing into EigenLayer within two hours of lifting the staking cap, propelling its Total Value Locked (TVL) to over $3 billion.

At present, EigenLayer officially reports a TVL of $6.611 billion, signifying a staggering $6.5 billion surge over the last two months. 

Data from DefiLlama breaks down the assets locked on the protocol—469,870 wrapped ether (WETH) tokens valued at $1.933 billion and an additional $2.736 billion worth of staked ether (stETH). 

EigenLayer distinguishes itself by enabling investors to earn extra interest on their staked ETH tokens through a process known as "restaking."

‍

Diverse Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs)

EigenLayer supports a variety of popular liquid staking tokens (LSTs), including lido-staked ETH (stETH) and rocket pool ETH (RETH). ETH is staked on behalf of users by platforms like Lido and Rocket Pool, which issue LSTs that represent the stakes and accrue interest. 

The broader landscape of liquid restaking platforms has witnessed substantial growth, with capital on platforms like ether.fi experiencing a remarkable 406% increase to $1.19 billion in the past 30 days. 

Puffer Finance, another player in the space, recorded a notable 79% surge in the past week alone. The collective TVL across liquid restaking protocols, including EigenLayer, has now reached an impressive $10 billion, a substantial leap from December's $350 million, according to DefiLlama.

EigenLayer's Evolution

EigenLayer's journey began with the initial phase of its protocol on the Ethereum mainnet in June 2023. Initially supporting LSTs from three staking projects—Lido, Rocket Pool, and Coinbase—the protocol has since expanded its offerings to include additional LSTs, such as Stakewise’s sETH, Mantle’s mETH, Frax’s sfrxETH, Ankr’s ankrETH, and Binance’s wBETH. This strategic evolution has contributed to EigenLayer's current standing as a significant force in the DeFi landscape.