Ethereum Staking Protocol EigenLayer Distributing 86 Million Additional Tokens
The Eigen Foundation, the entity behind the Ethereum restaking protocol EigenLayer, is set to kick off another round of airdrop rewards. Approximately 86 million tokens will be distributed starting from September 17 in what the Foundation refers to as a “stakedrop,” going to individuals and contributors who have actively supported the project.
The upcoming “Season 2 stakedrop” will allocate 70 million tokens to those who have staked and managed nodes. Additionally, 10 million tokens will be distributed among ecosystem partners and the EigenLayer community, with another 6 million tokens earmarked for open-source contributors, advocates, and early supporters of the community.
The Foundation expressed its excitement for rewarding those who have significantly contributed to EigenLayer’s growth since its inception. Activities such as participating in hackathons, creating blogs, engaging on social media platforms like Twitter and Discord, and supporting open-source development have all played a crucial role in the project’s evolution.
Previously, EigenLayer initiated an airdrop named “Season 1” back in May, where over 1.6 billion tokens were allocated, equivalent to 5% of the total token supply, to users who engaged in staking activities by March 15.
Although the EIGEN token is not yet tradable, the Foundation aims to achieve specific product and decentralization milestones before enabling trading and transfers. These milestones are projected to be completed by September 30, although the current status of this estimate remains uncertain.
Airdrops are a common strategy used by crypto projects to attract users by offering free tokens to existing and potential community members, with the hope of fostering growth and increasing project adoption in the future.
EigenLayer, built on the Ethereum network, specializes in restaking, allowing users to stake across multiple blockchains. This approach enables individuals already staking Ethereum (ETH) to utilize the same staked assets on other platforms, enhancing security and earning additional rewards in the process.
Staking involves pledging cryptocurrency holdings to a network to earn rewards, and networks that utilize staking are known as proof-of-stake blockchains. Prominent cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Polkadot, and Cardano employ this consensus mechanism.
The article has been edited by Andrew Hayward.
