EigenCloud (prev. EigenLayer) eigen

EigenLayer is an Ethereum protocol that introduced restaking: a way for stakers to make verifiable commitments to applications and services beyond Ethereum itself. Its core design brings together restakers, operators, and Autonomous Verifiable Services (AVSs), allowing the same underlying economic security to support additional services under explicitly defined rules. The protocol is maintained by Layr Labs and is now documented within the broader EigenCloud platform.

Restakers can supply security using native ETH, liquid-staking tokens, EIGEN, and supported ERC-20 assets. Operators run the software required by AVSs and can be delegated stake; AVSs consume this operator-backed security to provide services such as data availability, interoperability, sequencing, or other verifiable off-chain/on-chain work.

EigenCloud is the product umbrella around EigenLayer and related verifiable-cloud services. EigenDA is its data-availability service, while EigenCompute presents a verifiable cloud/compute direction for applications and agents. Thus, "EigenLayer" generally refers to the restaking and shared-security protocol, while "EigenCloud" describes the broader developer platform built around verifiable services.

Launching a new crypto service normally requires bootstrapping an operator set, capital, and a security model from zero. That fragments liquidity and makes early services vulnerable to low participation or weak incentives. EigenLayer addresses this bootstrapping problem by letting existing Ethereum security be reused for additional, explicitly specified services.

The protocol also targets a coordination gap between capital providers, infrastructure operators, and service developers. Restakers may not want to operate every service themselves, while AVS developers need reliable operators and economic backing. Delegation and AVS-specific commitments create a marketplace in which operators can serve multiple services and restakers can choose who acts on their behalf.

Restaking is not risk-free: a participant can take on additional slashing or service-specific failure risk, and the security of an AVS depends on its operator set, fault model, implementation, and rules. Shared security therefore improves capital efficiency but does not make every AVS equivalent to Ethereum consensus or guarantee application correctness.

A restaker deposits or delegates eligible assets through EigenLayer strategies or an EigenPod for native Beacon Chain ETH. The StrategyManager/EigenPodManager account for stake and shares, while the DelegationManager handles operator delegation. The contracts support native restaking and liquid-staking positions on Ethereum mainnet; the official deployment table also lists EIGEN as a special strategy.

An operator registers, configures its keys and permissions, and opts into one or more AVSs. Each AVS defines the work operators must perform and the conditions under which rewards or penalties apply. The AVSDirectory and newer AllocationManager/PermissionController components provide on-chain registration, allocation, and permission plumbing; AVS software generally includes an operator client, task or data logic, and a mechanism for submitting or verifying results.

Rewards can be coordinated for operators and delegated stake through the RewardsCoordinator and AVS-specific payment arrangements. If an operator violates an AVS's rules, the applicable contract and AVS design can impose penalties or slash delegated security. EIGEN adds a complementary mechanism for intersubjective work disputes and network coordination; it is distinct from ETH restaking collateral even though it has an EigenLayer strategy.

EigenLayer's multichain deployment can transport AVS stake/security information from a source chain to supported destination chains for verification. The current contracts repository lists Ethereum mainnet as the core deployment and documents Base primarily as a destination/verification chain rather than a place where standard restaking and slashing occur. Always verify addresses and supported features against the deployment documentation before interacting.