EigenLayer's Inaugural Airdrop: A Comprehensive Overview for Eligible Recipients

The much-anticipated EigenLayer (EIGEN) airdrop is set to commence on May 10th, with 5% of the total token supply allocated to restakers who deposited prior to March 15th with at least 10 EIGEN. The airdrop will be conducted in phases, with 90% of the tokens available for claiming next Friday and the remaining 10% reserved for users with complex interactions with EigenLayer and to be distributed in approximately one month.

EigenLayer's Inaugural Airdrop: A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction

The highly anticipated airdrop of EigenLayer's native token, EIGEN, is fast approaching, with claims scheduled to open on May 10th. This inaugural distribution marks a significant milestone for the EigenLayer protocol and offers a unique opportunity for users to acquire a stake in this groundbreaking technology.

Eligibility and Allocations

The airdrop will allocate 5% of the total EIGEN supply to eligible recipients who participated in staking on or before the March 15th snapshot date with a minimum of 10 EIGEN deposited. While most of these tokens will be claimable next Friday, 10% of the distribution is reserved for users who engaged in "complex interactions" with EigenLayer through liquid restaking tokens (LRTs). This portion will be distributed approximately one month later, following further feedback from ecosystem participants.

Eligible users can preview their allocations for phase one, season one through EigenLayer's official claim portal. It is important to note that residents of certain jurisdictions, including the United States and Canada, are excluded from claiming this airdrop due to regulatory restrictions.

Distribution Mechanism

The remaining 10% of the EIGEN supply not distributed in season one will be allocated to users in subsequent seasons. These distributions will consider actions taken going forward and the user's entire history of interactions with EigenLayer. Boost allocations were granted to early joiners, long-term participants, and native restakers who contributed to network resilience and decentralization; future distributions will likely follow a similar weighting system.

Token Utility and Governance

Upon launch, EIGEN will possess intrinsic utility, allowing holders to stake their tokens to secure the EigenDA network. Over time, the potential for further integration of EIGEN staking exists if other Actively Validated Services (AVSs) adopt EIGEN and other tokens as collateral for network security.

Central to EIGEN is its governance mechanism, which enables "intersubjective forking." This mechanism allows token holders to challenge incorrect slashing behaviors that cannot be objectively identified on-chain but warrant a penalty according to reasonable observers.

Forking Process

To initiate a fork in response to an improper slashing event, a challenger must commit a "significant fraction" of EIGEN tokens as a bond; EigenLayer's social consensus will then vote on the legitimacy of the fork. If the proposed fork is validated, the challenger recuperates their bond and earns a reward, while tokens belonging to voters who oppose the fork will be penalized. Conversely, if consensus rejects the fork, the challenger's tokens will be burned.

Token Lock and Trading Restrictions

While EIGEN will be claimable next Friday and come with some utility at launch, it will initially be subject to a "non-transferable period" until token forking is enabled. Consequently, recipients will be unable to sell their tokens for an indefinite period of time. Additionally, the Eigen Foundation discourages the creation or trading of EIGEN derivatives, claiming that such activities may impact eligibility for future airdrops.

Token Supply and Distribution

At launch, EIGEN will have a total supply of 1,673,646,668.28466 tokens, a number derived from encoding the phrase "Open Innovation" on a classic telephone keypad. In addition to the 15% allocated for stakedrops, 30% of the initial token supply is reserved for EigenLayer development and community allocation, split equally between the Eigen Foundation and direct community control.

Private investors will receive 29.5% of the EIGEN supply, and the core team will retain the remaining 25.5%. Both allocations are subject to a one-year lock, followed by a linear unlock of 4% per month over the next two years.

Future Tokenomics

To sustain ongoing deposits, EigenLayer anticipates the need to adopt inflationary tokenomics in the future. Control over these emissions will be delegated to the community, allowing them to decide how to distribute them among EigenLayer's diverse stakeholder groups.