EigenLayer Airdrop Controversy: Everything You Need To Know

Ethereum EigenLayer airdrop receivers will begin reclaiming EIGEN from May 10. However, there is a firestorm. Here’s everything to know.

There is a saying in crypto that if you are an ETH holder and actively engaged in staking, trading, or simply interacting with a protocol—it doesn’t matter which—your chances of getting freebies shoot high.

Not your farm – not your crops #EigenLayer pic.twitter.com/D2dqQV0Oxa

— Greg Waisman (@gwaisman) May 1, 2024

And this is true. If you were an active DeFi fan using Uniswap, you would have received possibly “life-changing” UNI tokens back in the day. 

The EigenLayer Airdrop – Here’s What You Need to Know

In 2024, if you believe the future of crypto and proof-of-stake is re-staking and actively tying your ETH to help secure other protocols via EigenLayer, you will be in the queue to receive a decent amount of EIGEN.

Last month, EigenLayer announced plans to launch EIGEN and distribute 5% of the total supply to the community. 

The airdropped EIGEN was meant to reward early adopters participating in restaking activities. 

However, the initial rollout fell short of many users’ expectations, triggering widespread criticism.

Everything You Need To Know About the EIGEN Airdrop

Even with this backlash and the ongoing firestorm, here are four things you need to know about the EigenLayer airdrop:

1. We Want More EIGEN 

Only 5% of the total token supply will be distributed in “Season One” of the airdrop. But there is more: You only qualify for this airdrop if you began restaking on March 15, precisely at Ethereum block height #19437000.

Because of this, community members complain that the 5% set aside for early adopters is insufficient.

The EigenLayer Foundation added 28 million more EIGEN to the airdrop pool to address this. They will be distributed to 280,000 wallets.

Updates on the EIGEN Stakedrop pic.twitter.com/1cwSForJnx

— Eigen Foundation (@eigenfoundation) May 2, 2024

2. Restakers From 30 Countries Excluded

The 5% set for airdropping excludes restakers from 30 countries, including the United States and Canada.

The EigenLayer Foundation cited regulatory concerns (perhaps to avoid trouble now that the United States SEC has been issuing Wells Notices and suing crypto firms almost every month).

Understandably, considering that ETH staking is permitted in the United States, the decision has been seen as unfair.

3. EigenLayer: We Shall Reward At Least 110 EIGEN

The airdrop will also allocate EIGEN linearly depending on the staked amount. Therefore, those who re-staked fewer tokens will receive fewer EIGEN tokens.

Critics say this model disadvantages small re-stakers, most of whom are ordinary community members who engage actively and are keen on seeing the project succeed.

However, the foundation intends to fix this by guaranteeing that those who qualify for the airdrop will receive at least 110 EIGEN.

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4. Transferability From September 2024

Even if you claim your EIGEN from May 10, you won’t be able to transfer the token the next day, as it is the norm in most airdrops.

Therefore, all EIGEN received are locked and cannot be traded immediately.

This means all you have to do is HODL and leave it lying idle in your wallet. It is not surprising that this is dampening user enthusiasm. As such, to address community concerns, EigenLayer said EIGEN holders will transfer these tokens once they launch on the mainnet in late September 2024.

Whether EigenLayer will fully appease its user base and deliver a successful airdrop remains to be seen.

At this point, only time will tell if the revised plan will quell the discontent and further drive its total value locked (TVL), currently at over $15 billion, according to DeFiLlama.

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Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.