Eigenlayer (EIGEN)
Unlock Schedule
Eigenlayer (EIGEN) Token Unlock & Vesting Schedule
The unlock chart above provides a clear visual overview of the Eigenlayer (EIGEN) token release schedule, showing when and how tokens enter circulation across investor, team, treasury, and community allocations. Understanding these tokenomics dynamics is critical for evaluating potential supply pressure, inflation impact, and market liquidity over time — key factors that can influence EIGEN price performance.
Each color segment in the chart corresponds to a specific allocation group described in the Allocations section below. Underlying assumptions and data models used to reconstruct this schedule are explained in detail under Assumptions, while broader utility insights and token use cases are covered in Tokenomics & Utility.
Tokenomics & Utility
Supply, Allocations, and Unlocks
The initial supply of the EIGEN token at launch was 1,673,646,668.28466. The initial allocation was:
- Community: 45% total, split across (a) 15% for multi‑season “stakedrops,” (b) 15% for future community initiatives, and (c) 15% for R&D and ecosystem growth managed by the Eigen Foundation.
- Investors: 29.5%.
- Early Contributors: 25.5%.
EIGEN’s transferability began on September 30, 2024. Tokens allocated to investors and core contributors are locked for one year after transferability, then unlock linearly at 4% per month over the following two years. EIGEN’s supply is designed to be inflationary in early years, with emissions directed to community benefit. (docs.eigenfoundation.org)
Staking Utility
Holders can stake EIGEN with operators to help secure AVSs, starting with EigenDA and expanding as more AVSs opt to accept EIGEN. Staked EIGEN can earn fees from AVSs and be considered for future stakedrop seasons, aligning token utility with real work performed by the network. (docs.eigenfoundation.org)
Stakedrops and Availability
The Eigen Foundation launched multi‑season stakedrops to distribute part of the community allocation to early users and operators. A Season 1 snapshot (March 15, 2024) kicked off claims in May 2024, and subsequent seasons have continued expanding the community’s share over time. Transferability was intentionally delayed until the ecosystem hit decentralization and product milestones. (blog.eigenfoundation.org)
What can move the EIGEN price?
Without citing any real‑time numbers, typical factors include: growth in AVS demand; rewards and emissions settings; progress on slashing and other security features; major listings; and broader Ethereum activity. Unlock schedules and incentive changes can also influence supply and demand dynamics that traders watch closely. (cointelegraph.com)
Assumptions
- Total supply is uncapped due to ongoing inflation; we model a 10-year horizon for programmatic incentives.
Foundation documentation sets a fixed 4% annual inflation of the initial supply, minted weekly, persisting unless adjusted by governance.
- Season 1 and Season 2 stakedrops are modeled as linear over their respective claim windows.
Claims occur at user discretion; to produce a monthly series we approximate uniform claiming across official windows.
- Future stakedrops (remaining ~3.05% of initial supply) are modeled as linear from 2025-04-01 to 2028-03-31.
Foundation confirms remaining stakedrops will occur in future programs but has not published timing; we begin after Season 2 claims close.
- Community Initiatives and R&D/Ecosystem Growth buckets are modeled as 60-month linear releases starting 2024-10-01.
Docs state multi-year deployment with possible vesting/lock-ups and no specific schedule; linear multi-year modeling yields a usable monthly series.
- Investor and Early Contributor unlocks use a 4% cliff at 1-year post-transferability and 4% monthly thereafter for 24 months.
Directly specified in Eigen Foundation docs and FAQ; first 4% unlock on 2025-09-30, completing 100% by 2027-09-30.
- Genesis date set to 2024-05-10 (Season 1 claim start).
First opportunity for tokens to enter circulation via claims; token transferability began later on 2024-09-30.
- Percent_total values for initial allocations are expressed as percentages of the initial supply; the inflation allocation's percent_total is set to 0 due to uncapped supply.
Initial supply percentages are fixed; ongoing inflation has no fixed cap.
- 1. https://docs.eigenfoundation.org/eigen-token/key-info
- 2. https://docs.eigenfoundation.org/eigen-token/token
- 3. https://blog.eigenfoundation.org/announcement/
- 4. https://docs.eigenfoundation.org/faq/overview
- 5. https://docs.eigenfoundation.org/faq-s-2/season-2
- 6. https://docs.eigenfoundation.org/programmatic-incentives/programmatic-incentives-faq
Allocations
Description
#179
EigenLayer is a middleware built on Ethereum that allows protocols to leverage Ethereum's security. It enables "restaking" of ETH, where staked ETH can be used to secure additional networks in exchange for extra rewards.
| Sector: | Liquid Staking |
| Blockchain: | Ethereum |