Tuesday, October 01, 2024
EigenLayer, the largest restaking protocol on the Ethereum network, officially launched the EIGEN token on various crypto exchanges on Tuesday (10/1/2024).
According to data from CoinMarketCap, the price of the EIGEN token quickly increased from an initial price of around US$3.89 to US$4.5 in just the first three hours. As of this writing, the price of EIGEN has been recorded to have increased by around 16%, reaching US$4.33.
In line with this increase, EIGEN's market capitalization jumped by 144% to US$761 million, making this token enter the top 87 of the 100 largest crypto assets in the world.
The launch coincides with a token unlock that allows EIGEN holders from the first phase of the airdrop distribution to move, stake, or trade their tokens.
EigenLayer launched its first phase airdrop distribution in May 2024, with 113 million EIGEN tokens distributed to the community, while the second phase will eventually distribute up to 86 million tokens to node operators and stakers involved with the protocol.
Justin Sun Becomes One of EIGEN's Largest Recipients
According to user X Ai 姨, one of the biggest recipients of the EIGEN airdrop includes Tron founder Justin Sun. Spot on Chain revealed that Sun deposited all 5.24 million EIGEN tokens worth around $21.5 million to crypto exchange HTX just 20 minutes after the token was listed.
Interestingly, these tokens were claimed from EigenLayer via five wallet addresses in the last 24 hours.
Sun himself is known to have collected more than US$38.74 million from various airdrops originating from the Ethereum restaking ecosystem. In addition to EIGEN, he is also waiting for further distribution from other Ethereum protocols such as Puffer, Zircult, Swell, and Kelp.
