EigenLayer Token EIGEN Set to Unlock, Derivative Markets Hint at Bullish Debut

Ethereum restaking protocol EigenLayer is only hours away from unlocking its native token, EIGEN, and derivative markets hint at a bullish debut

Ethereum restaking protocol EigenLayer is set to unlock its native token, EIGEN, in just a few hours. According to data from decentralized perpetual exchanges, derivative markets are anticipating a strong debut for the token.

Since launching in May, EigenLayer’s native token has been nontransferable. However, EIGEN-linked perpetual futures — also known as “perps” — are indicating a spot price of around $4 per token, based on data from exchanges Aevo and Hyperliquid.

“Most likely scenario is airdrop farmers dumping weighs on the price for a bit, but I personally think there will be a lot of interest in picking up cheap EIGEN for the rest of the cycle,” Aylo, pseudonymous founder of Alpha Please, said in a Sept. 30 post on the X platform.

EIGEN perps have been rising throughout September. Source: Aevo

The token is set to unlock at 5:00 am UTC on Oct. 1 and will begin trading on centralized exchanges (CEXs), including Binance and Bitfinex, shortly after.

With a total supply of 1.67 billion, EIGEN’s fully diluted value (FDV) is set to surpass $6.7 billion. Around 200 million EIGEN tokens are currently in circulation.

The price of EIGEN perps on Aevo and Hyperliquid has been steadily climbing since early September, nearly doubling from lows of around $2 per token.

Although Aevo and Hyperliquid’s 24-hour trading volume combined totals around $1 million, it may not fully capture the dynamics of the market.

According to a person familiar with the matter, the perps market aligns with EIGEN’s price in informal over-the-counter (OTC) trades, which reportedly rose from around $2 in August to roughly $3.50 as recently as Sept. 24. These comments are consistent with information from EigenLayer’s community forums.

Following EigenLayer’s May airdrop, early OTC trades initially priced EIGEN as high as $10 per token, the person said.

EigenLayer’s TVL. Source: DefiLlama

As more protocols begin paying EigenLayer’s restakers, who deposit tokens — including EIGEN — as collateral to secure other networks, or “actively validated services” (AVS), in EigenLayer’s parlance, tokenholders stand to benefit.

According to DefiLlama, EigenLayer had nearly $12 billion in total value locked (TVL) as of Sept. 30.

In August, EigenDA, EigenLayer’s affiliated AVS, began restaking rewards in Ether ( ETH ) and EIGEN to restakers. Other AVS, such as Arpa Network, are preparing to do the same.

“The last ecosystem map I saw had 60+ AVS building on top of Eigenlayer,” Aylo said, adding:

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