EigenLayer

Changelog.

• v0.2.2 (2026-10-14; replaces v0.2.1, publish hash 409461078340116f19a0143201e8650a274a8db5ecf868e5680e397d12642c4a): the page record now shows the published status, version, publish date and proof. Body wording: the policy line now names the Learning Hub. No claim changes.
• v0.2.1 (2026-10-06; replaces v0.2, sha256 2f02a1ebeb6216d4bef0e0c21ed22329d795208ac542729b0355f0d24f982a86): Source 20 no longer says no explorer cross-check is available; it now gives the call data and block hash for the pinned on-chain read and adds a Blockscout cross-check showing the address is a proxy whose implementation is DelegationManager.
• v0.2 (2026-10-06; replaces v0.1, sha256 af739b701ae95fcffee0070dbbc4c55226e7b1adee00a90455db00d183a12c00): updated three redirecting source URLs to their final addresses (two Eigen Labs blog posts, now on eigenlabs.org, and the ELIP-019 forum retro's new slug); made the "to slash for any reason" quote verbatim; described AVSs as built outside EigenLayer itself rather than outside Ethereum; corrected where burned funds go (ERC-20s to a dead address; slashed native ETH stays locked in EigenPods); re-cited the "available on mainnet" line to the Safety Delays reference and release v1.5.0; narrowed the ELIP-016 reversal statement to the proposal's wording, scoped to that upgrade; replaced "the protocol does not provide" protection with wording that reflects the protocol's delays and pause; added a pinned on-chain read of DelegationManager `version()` returning "1.13.1" alongside the forum post, because the public repository has no v1.13.1 tag; relabeled the learning hub from "The File" to "Library".

1. What it is

EigenLayer is a set of smart contracts on Ethereum that lets people "restake" assets to secure other services [1]. Stakers deposit native ETH, liquid staking tokens, the EIGEN token or other ERC-20 tokens [1]. That stake then backs services built outside EigenLayer itself, often running offchain, which EigenLayer calls Autonomous Verifiable Services (AVSs) [1][2]. EigenLayer's own docs call this a "marketplace for trust" [1].

The idea is that a new service does not have to build its own validator network and stake from scratch [1]. It can borrow security from stakers and operators already in EigenLayer [1]. In return, the service can pay rewards, and it can slash stake when operators break its rules [1].

EigenLayer is developed by Eigen Labs [13], which now presents it as the base layer of a wider product line called EigenCloud [6][14]. Upgrades go through EigenLayer Improvement Proposals (ELIPs) and need approval from a Protocol Council [13]. This page covers the restaking protocol only.

2. How it works

The three roles

• Stakers deposit assets and delegate them to an operator [1].
• Operators run the software for one or more AVSs and accept the risk of being slashed [1][2].
• AVSs are the services: each defines its tasks, its rewards and its slashing conditions [2].

Delegation is a "double opt-in": both staker and operator must agree [1]. Native ETH is restaked through an "EigenPod," a per-user contract that the staker points their Ethereum validator's withdrawal credentials at [2].

Operator sets and unique stake

Since the slashing upgrade, AVSs organize operators into "Operator Sets" [3][4]. An operator allocates a share of its delegated stake to a particular Operator Set, and that share becomes "Unique Stake" [2][3]. Only the AVS running that set can slash it [3][4]. ELIP-002 says this pairing guards each AVS "without creating exogenous risk to other AVSs or the protocol at large" [4].

Allocations and withdrawals are slowed by built-in delays [5][7]:

• Withdrawal delay. A staker who withdraws stays slashable for about 14 days (100,800 blocks) [5].
• Deallocation delay. When an operator removes stake from an Operator Set, it stays slashable for about 14 days [5][7].
• Allocation delay. Each operator sets this themselves [5]. The protocol puts no limits on it [5].

Slashing

EigenLayer's docs call slashing "maximally flexible" [3]. AVSs can design their protocols "to slash for any reason," and slashing "does not have to be objectively attributable (that is, provable onchain)" [3]. The docs put the burden on participants: operators must understand each AVS's slashing rules before taking on its stake [3]. Stakers are responsible for watching where their operators allocate [8].

Slashed funds are handled one of two ways [3]:

• Burned. This is the default for standard Operator Sets [3]. Burned ERC-20 tokens are sent to a dead address; slashed native ETH stays permanently locked in EigenPod contracts [3].
• Redistributed. AVSs can create "redistributable" Operator Sets, which send slashed funds to a recipient the AVS chooses [3][9]. Redistribution is opt-in for AVSs, operators and stakers [9]. It works for ERC-20 stake, including liquid staking tokens, but not yet for native ETH or EIGEN [9].

The docs say plainly that "there is an incentive to slash user funds when redistribution is enabled" [9]. They also warn that compromised AVS or operator keys "can lead to theft of user funds rather than just burning" [9].

Rewards

AVSs pay rewards to operators and stakers through a core contract called the RewardsCoordinator [1]. Separately, the protocol mints EIGEN to stakers and operators as "Programmatic Incentives" [6].

Duration Vaults

Duration Vaults, added by ELIP-015, lock deposits for a fixed period and allocate all of the stake to one Operator Set [10]. Stakers cannot withdraw until the period ends [10]. The vaults support liquid staking tokens and other ERC-20s, but not EIGEN or native ETH [10].

3. What changed

Slashing goes live. On April 17, 2025, Eigen Labs said slashing was live on mainnet and called it the protocol's "feature-complete" milestone [11]. Redistribution followed under ELIP-006, which the docs now describe as available on mainnet [5][12].

A seven-day pause before slashed funds move. ELIP-016 added a seven-day (50,400-block) delay between a slash and the release of slashed funds [5][15]. It also added a switch that lets the pauser multisig halt burning and redistribution [15]. The proposal explained why. Some operators, including public ones, had set their allocation delay to zero [15]. Some operators that had stopped running "still have assets delegated to them," which raised questions about their keys [15]. Before the change, a compromised operator with no allocation delay could have had its delegated assets "instantaneously allocated and redistributed out of EigenLayer" [15]. The proposal said there was "presently no evidence" this had happened [15]. The Protocol Council approved it on June 15, 2026, noting "recent high profile security incidents" [16].

An accounting fix. ELIP-019 fixed a rounding mismatch that could over-count slashable shares in the withdrawal queue [17]. Eigen Labs described the effect as "dust-sized" on any single slash, but called it "the seed of a theoretical attack on strategy solvency" [17]. The fix shipped as v1.13.1 [17][20], and the write-up was posted on August 28, 2026 [17].

Exits for EigenPods. ELIP-018, still a draft, proposes a one-way "retirement" path for EigenPods [18]. Its motivation is that pod owners currently have no way to rotate the keys that control their validators [18].

4. What is open

Slashing is subjective by design. An AVS can slash "for any reason," without onchain proof [3]. The docs put the main responsibility on stakers: choose operators carefully and keep monitoring their allocations [3][8]. The protocol's own safeguards are its delays, including each operator's allocation delay, and since ELIP-016 a seven-day wait and a pause before slashed funds move [5][9][15].

Redistribution risk. Redistribution turns a key compromise into possible theft, in the docs' own words [9]. ELIP-016 adds a delay and a pause, but the proposal says it includes "no mechanism… to allow an erroneous slashing event to be reverted" [15]. Slashed funds would stay frozen "until protocol upgrades capable of handling the malicious slashing event are completed" [15].

Who holds the switches. The Protocol Council approves and executes upgrades through a timelock [13]. A pauser multisig can halt redistribution [15]. "At this time," only Eigen Labs formally creates and submits ELIPs [13]. How and when that opens up is not stated.

Operator hygiene. ELIP-016 says some operators set zero allocation delays and some inactive operators still hold delegations [15]. Le Coin has not measured how many, and the proposal does not say.

Unfinished pieces. Multichain verification, which lets AVS results be checked on other chains, is labeled early-access and "in active development" [19]. Redistribution of native ETH and EIGEN is "not yet" supported [9]. The RETIRE exit path is a draft [18].

What this page leaves out. By Learning Hub policy, this dive carries no price, market value, deposit totals or reward-rate figures. Those go stale, and News covers them.

Not financial advice.