What is EigenLayer: the verifiable cloud for programmable trust
Thread880 words
Argues EigenLayer brings SaaS-style abstraction to Web3 by extending Ethereum security beyond the EVM, so teams can spin up a rollup and plug in DA, proving, oracle and interop services as AVSes. Over 50 AVSes are building on $12B restaked ETH.
Key claims
$12B in restaked ETH
More than 50 AVSes building on EigenLayer
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๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฒ๐๐ซ? โพ๏ธ โจ
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$12B in restaked $ETH, fueling a shared security system for open innovation that extends Ethereum's trust to any verifiable network.
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This is still the most important innovation since Ethereum itself.
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Yet, few truly understand the underlying thesis.
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๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ @eigencloud ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ โคต๏ธ
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Ethereum is the backbone infrastructure of a verifiable and open internet.
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An alternative to the closed & trusted systems of Web2.
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However, Web3 is still lagging behind.
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When developers build a Web2 app today, they have access to an extensive array of web services and APIs that make their work easier than ever before.
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Platforms like @awscloud streamline the deployment and scaling of essential infrastructure such as databases, web servers, and file storage.
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Services like @vercel simplify website launches (just push your code to GitHub, and it's live).
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AI services like @OpenAI allow for seamless AI integration with just a few lines of code.
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This creates the highly abstracted environment that Web2 devs operate in today, dominated by Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) models, and allowing devs to simply assemble their applications using existing services, databases & APIs.
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It allows them to focus on the unique features of their app and accelerates their competitive edge and innovation power.
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๐ช๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฏ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป. โคต๏ธ
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Ethereum was the first blockchain to enable smart contracts, eliminating the need for developers to build entire blockchains from scratch.
This innovation allowed devs to leverage Ethereum's security, focusing on building application logic and driving a wave of innovation in the crypto space.
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Today, smart contracts (residing on L1s or L2s) are the backbone of most crypto apps.
However they come with challenges:
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โ ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด
โ ๐๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด
โ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ด
โ ๐๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ
โ ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด
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These constraints make smart contract development significantly more demanding than traditional web development.
> Visual by @dabit3
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To take the next step as an industry, we need to provide the same abstractions and developer tools common in Web2, empowering devs to more easily build & deploy applications.
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Otherwise, "mass adoption ready" apps will never come.
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That means Web3 SaaS has to become a standard, allowing major network components like data availability, ZK proof generation or verification, etc., to be decoupled from each other (see visual below for more examples).
> Visual by @dabit3
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Specialized players that arise in these functional areas and that focus on specific network components, can then provide infrastructure services at scale to 1000s of verifiable web apps.
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However, the complexity that comes with bootstrapping decentralized networks and the limitations of building within the constraints of a specific VM, impose significant complexity and high barriers of entry on emerging SaaS providers (and ultimately app builders) in Web3.
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๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐'๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ @eigencloud ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ. โคต๏ธ
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Think of it as the verifiable cloud.
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It extends Ethereum's security outside of the constraints of the underlying virtual machine (EVM), allowing Ethereum's trust layer secure and power a developer platform for easily building arbitrary verifiable services.
> Visual by @dabit3
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Verifiable services that provide the core building blocks for Web3 applications, and that in a SaaS-style model, will enable the same infra abstraction for Web3 devs that is already common in Web2.
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Builders will be able to simply spin up a rollup (a verifiable web server) and leverage @eigencloud-based SaaS solutions to abstract all the infra level complexity.
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Devs solely focus on the application logic and building their competitive advantage.
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๐๐ฒ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ. โคต๏ธ
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A dev that wants to build a PerpDEX can for example leverage a RaaS provider to spin up a rollup (a.k.a. web server) and integrate out-of-the-box services for interoperability, liquidity, ZK proving & verification, oracles, data availability, etc., all powered by @eigencloud.
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This service-centric model to make a verifiable and open internet as envisioned by Ethereum a reality, is the core thesis that underlies @eigencloud.
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It is a game-changer for how we build decentralized systems and is, even if the airdrop hype has subsided, the most important Web3 innovation since Ethereum itself.
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The >50 AVSes (actively validated services) building verifiable services on @eigencloud are evidence to that and soon, the impact of this revolutionary technology will become evident.
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Top 12 AVSes by amount of restaked $ETH โคต๏ธ
> Data from @eigenbeat
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The leading AVSes on @eigencloud already have thousands of $ETH delegated to their operators, equalling billions of $$$ in crypto-economic security.
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This includes:
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โ @eigen_da (data availability sercive)
โ @eoracle_network (oracle service)
โ @lagrangedev (ZK proving service)
โ @hyperlane (interoperability)
โ @lagrangedev (state committees)
โ @BuildOnCyber MACH by @alt_layer (fast finality service)
โ @AutomataNetwork (TEE prover)
โ +++
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Stay tuned for more as I will dive into the @eigencloud ecosystem in more depth in the weeks to come.
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Drop a follow, turn on ๐ and DYOR anon.
You are a sloth and too lazy to read? ๐ฆฅ๐ค
Everything you need to know about @eigencloud in a 4min video โคต๏ธ
x.com/dabit3/status/1829153823673233735
If you're looking for an explainer on AVSes, check the below 90 second video by @geniusyinka โคต๏ธ
x.com/buildoneigen/status/1829272866744848666
3 more images on X
How the covered assets moved ยท since 30 Aug 2024
Prices as of 23 Oct 2026This explainer walks through how things work without making a call on the token, so price moves since publication are shown as market context.
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Zero has written 15 more pieces on EigenLayer since this one.
Daily closes in USD from DefiLlama and Yahoo Finance. Only a bullish or bearish thesis is read as a call; explainers, maps and mentions are context. Not financial advice.