This article summarizes six mainstream Ethereum re-staking protocols, with a total TVL of $3.526 billion, accounting for approximately 5.2% of the total staked value on the Ethereum beacon chain. Ethereum derivative assets are continuously growing in the “nesting doll” ecosystem.
EigenLayer
EigenLayer is an Ethereum-based re-staking protocol that provides Ethereum-level security for the entire Ethereum crypto-economic system. It allows users to re-stake native ETH, LSDETH, and LP tokens through the EigenLayer smart contract and earn validation rewards. This enables third-party projects to enjoy the security of the Ethereum mainnet while earning additional rewards, creating a win-win situation.
As of now, EigenLayer has a TVL of $2.045 billion, with WETH (45.23%), STETH (22.22%), and SWETH (13.34%) being the top three assets in its treasury.
ether.fi
ether.fi is a non-custodial liquidity staking platform that launched the eETH token for liquidity staking on the Ethereum mainnet on November 12, 2023. Users can stake ETH on ether.fi and receive the protocol’s LST (eETH), which can be used to generate more yield in the entire DeFi ecosystem, including re-staking on EigenLayer. Throughout the process, users retain control over their private keys while delegating Ethereum validator operations to node operators. Each validator generated through the protocol is represented as an NFT. Ethereum stakers with a minimum deposit of 32 ETH will hold an NFT representing their economic interest as validators.
ether.fi has announced its roadmap for the first half of 2024. The team plans to have the TGE in April, with other key dates including the release of the DAO framework in February and the release of the token economics document in March. Additionally, the mainnet v3 is scheduled to be released in early Q2.
As of now, ether.fi has a TVL of $509 million, with 220,000 WETH in its treasury.
Swell Network
Swell Network is an Ethereum liquidity re-staking protocol where users can collect Pearls by staking swETH and providing liquidity. These Pearls can be exchanged for SWELL tokens during a token generation event later this year, with 50 million SWELL tokens (5% of the total supply) being distributed. Swell Network launched the re-staking token rswETH (Restaked Swell Ether) on January 30, allowing users to earn Pearls, EigenLayer points, and future re-staking rewards, providing unrestricted access to EigenLayer Restaking and continued accumulation of Restaking rewards in DeFi.
On March 14, 2022, Swell Network completed a $3.75 million seed funding round, with Framework Ventures leading the round and participation from IOSG Ventures, Apollo Capital, Maven 11, Mark Cuban, Kain Warwick, and other notable investors.
Swell Network currently has a TVL of $451 million, with 191,070 swETH and 1,475 rswETH in its treasury.
Kelp DAO
Kelp DAO is a re-staking project under the multi-chain LSD platform Stader Lab, and it has built the Liquid Restaked Token (LRT) solution based on EigenLayer using rsETH.
Users who stake with Kelp DAO can earn Kelp points, and the Ethereum in the project’s treasury is also staked on EigenLayer, sharing the points with the community users. Within only six days of its launch on December 19, 2023, Kelp DAO attracted approximately 38,000 ETH in deposits.
On October 7, 2021, Stader Labs announced the completion of a $4 million seed funding round led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, True Ventures, Jump Capital, Proof Group, Hypersphere, and other investors.
On January 20, 2022, Stader Labs announced the completion of a $12.5 million private funding round, valuing the company at $450 million. This round was led by Three Arrows Capital, with participation from Blockchain.com, Accomplice, DACM, GoldenTree Asset Management, Accel, Amber, 4RC, Figment, and several angel investors.
Kelp DAO currently has a TVL of $255 million, with three Ethereum derivatives in its treasury: 68,360 ETHX (63.02%), 35,230 STETH (31.78%), and 538 SFRXETH (5.2%).
Renzo
Renzo is a liquidity re-staking protocol that is already live on the EigenLayer mainnet. Its core is ezETH, a Liquid Restaking Token (LRT) that users can mint by depositing Ethereum or LST into Renzo. ezETH can be further used in other DeFi protocols to earn compounded returns. Renzo abstracts away all the complexity for end-users, allowing them to participate in the EigenLayer ecosystem’s re-staking with low barriers. As a native re-staking product, its advantage lies in the ability to fully stake without being constrained by the EigenLayer LST deposit limit.
On January 15, 2024, Renzo, the liquidity re-staking protocol in the EigenLayer ecosystem, announced the completion of a $3 million seed funding round, led by Maven11, with participation from SevenX Ventures, Figment Capital, and IOSG Ventures.
Renzo currently has a TVL of $155 million, with 67,109 ezETH in its treasury.
Eigenpie
Eigenpie is a re-staking protocol based on EigenLayer, which allows users to re-stake native ETH, LSDETH, and LP tokens through the EigenLayer smart contract and earn validation rewards. It is jointly launched by decentralized liquidity aggregation protocol Magpie and EigenLayer. Eigenpie uses the smart contract technology of EigenLayer to provide LRT services to users, allowing them to passively earn income from both Ethereum staking and EigenLayer without locking periods.
Isolated Liquid Restaking (ILR) tokens are re-staking certificates generated by Eigenpie, which can only be minted by depositing specific LST and not a basket of different LST. Users can deposit their LST into Eigenpie to receive ILR tokens specific to their assets. The ILR tokens received when depositing LST into Eigenpie will retain their original names and have the prefix “m”.
Eigenpie’s native token is EGP, with a total supply of 10 million. The distribution includes IDO (40%), community incentives (35%), Magpie Treasury (15%), and early supporters’ airdrop (10%). The EGP token will be introduced through a fair launch, without VC or presale participation. The team has officially abandoned token allocation and will distribute 15% of the EGP tokens to the Magpie Treasury.
On September 8, 2022, Magpie Protocol announced the completion of a $3 million seed funding round, with participation from Jump Crypto, ArkStream Capital, Sandeep Nailwal, GSR Markets, Parafi Capital, Republic Capital, Big Brain Holdings, Serafund, Faculty Group, MH Ventures, D1 Ventures, Apollo Capital, and others.
Eigenpie currently has a TVL of $111 million, with STETH (50.73%), WBETH (14.75%), and METH (14.62%) being the top three assets in its treasury.
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