EigenLayer and EigenDA: restaking to secure middleware and scale DA
Thread787 words
Explains EigenLayer restaking of staked ETH to secure off-chain middleware, applies it to DA via EigenDA and compares it with Celestia and Avail, arguing it deserves more attention and may even rival danksharding.
Key claims
EigenDA claims up to 15 MB/s, 176x ETH DA without danksharding
Celestia is about 1.4 MB/s per Messari
EigenDA needs no new validator set but depends on ETH validators opting in
DA is a main bottleneck of blockchain scaling
off-chain DA & #Celestia's DA layer address this, while (proto-)danksharding aims to scale $ETH DA
but what if I told you danksharding could already be implemented as middleware secured by $ETH validators?!
ALPHA 🧵 on @eigencloud
1/ first of all, let's quickly recap the whole DA (= data availability) issue
you can find an introduction to the DA problem and an overview of the current DA landscape here (which also covers off-chain DA):
x.com/expctchaos/status/1535698402939265025
2/ secondly, if you're not familiar with @CelestiaOrg's DA layer, check out the thread below:
x.com/expctchaos/status/1535970188012572672
3/ last but not least, $ETH's EIP-4844 (a.k.a. proto-danksharding) and full danksharding implementation are covered here:
x.com/expctchaos/status/1532100096111824901
4/ but I promised you ALPHA on @eigencloud, so let's get to it!
what is @eigencloud?
@eigencloud is a series of smart contracts on $ETH allowing users to re-stake liquid $ETH staking derivs. It is a mechanism to leverage the existing trust network to do stuff it wasn't meant to
5/ but let me try to make a few examples so that it becomes more clear what I mean by this
6/ when interacting with protocols (e.g. a DEX on $ETH), users have to not only trust $ETH and the DEX they use, but also a number of other protocols that the DEX (or potentially the chain) interfaces with
7/ from a user perspective, this can for example mean:
- trusting oracles for price feed
- trusting bridges for cross-chain transfer
- trusting relayers for MEV Boost
- trusting a DA provider (single provider, committee or DA layer) if user is on a Validium/DAC or Celestium
8/ ok so good so far. but where does @eigencloud enter the picture here?
well, all the above mentioned cases are examples of users having to trust a middleware service that's not secured by the $ETH validator set, outside ecosystem security & potentially a source of risk
9/ but what if instead of having the middleware secured independently, there was a way to leverage the existing trust network ($ETH validator set) to do that?
10/ sounds familiar?
"mechanism to leverage the existing trust network to do stuff it wasn't meant to"
you're right, it's exactly what @eigencloud does (see definition earlier)
11/ through re-staking, @eigencloud let's stakers expose their staked $ETH ($stETH or $rETH) to additional slashing conditions in exchange for securing middleware, thereby leveraging the existing $ETH validator for security/trust
12/ but why do I bring up @eigencloud in the context of DA?
well, if you read carefully you might remember that middleware can also refer to a DA solution, for example in the case of a Validium or Celestium
13/ that means the user of the #Validium or #Celestium has to trust the centralized DA provider or decentralized DA layer's (independent) validator set to consistently ensure DA
14/ but what if instead of having to trust an external off-chain DA source or another chain, we could use the existing $ETH validator to secure a DA middleware layer?
well, I think at this point you get where I'm going with this
15/ so, let me quickly introduce you to #EigenDA, which is doing exactly what I just described. It's a DA network for rollups and allows $ETH to offload its DA within ecosystem security instead of going off-chain
16/ unlike #Celestia or #PolygonAvail, #EigenDA wouldn't have to bootstrap a new validator set
however, $ETH validators can freely choose to secure middleware or not
so, to achieve high security guarantees, a middleware service has to convince a lot of $ETH validators (rewards)
17/ since #EigenDA literally only is a DA layer (even conseus stripped off), it has a much higher throughput than Celestia (1.4MB/s, source: @MessariCrypto)
#EigenDA is said to achieve up to 15MB/s, which is 176 times more than the DA rate of $ETH without #danksharding
18/ using similar technology to $ETH's danksharding implemtation to ensure DA (e.g. data availability sampling), #EigenDA is a great battle-test for danksharding before it goes live
or will it even make #danksharding obsolete?
we will see
19/ in any case, I'm super excited about @eigencloud and think it deserves much more attention than it currently gets
for more information, check out the links below 👇
20/ @apolynya on #DataLayr a.k.a. #EigenDA
x.com/apolynya/status/1517137593531437058
21/ a more detailed thread on @eigencloud by @_nishil_ that has also provided some inspiration for my thread here
x.com/_nishil_/status/1573018197829115905
22/ thread on @eigencloud by founder @sreeramkannan
x.com/sreeramkannan/status/1595863276101177344
23/ @sreeramkannan's take on hyperscaling DA on #Ethereum
x.com/sreeramkannan/status/1551638882998841344
24/ for a deep dive into rollups & the modular design space, check out my thread from yesterday
x.com/expctchaos/status/1601534426592071681
if you liked this thread, please support by retweeting the first post (linked below) 🙏🤝
x.com/expctchaos/status/1601921935662731265
have a great Sunday frens!✨
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