EigenLayer Mainnet Announcement: Operator registration and EigenDA launch will be open

With the rise in ETH price, EigenLayer has emerged as the second largest on-chain protocol by TVL. The team announced yesterday the upcoming launch preparation on the mainnet, opening the registration process for AVS node operators, officially launching EigenDA, and reopening the deposit function for stakers.

Background of EigenLayer

EigenLayer Roadmap

The EigenLayer roadmap will be divided into three stages, each attracting different stakeholders to join the ecosystem:

• Phase One: Attracting token stakers, where the team provides staking services without rewards, attracting stakers mainly for potential airdrop opportunities.
• Phase Two: Attracting AVS node operators, aiming to bring capable node operators into the ecosystem and launching EigenDA as the first AVS.
• Phase Three: Attracting more actively validated services (AVS) providers to have EigenLayer officially servicing these projects and providing security.

The project is currently in Phase Two, preparing to open registration for AVS node operators soon and officially activating EigenDA as the first AVS, indicating that the EigenLayer mainnet's functionality is almost complete.

What is an AVS Node Operator?

The goal of the team in Phase Two is to attract AVS node operators. Node operators play a crucial role in securing the AVS network, similar to the importance of Ethereum nodes for the security and decentralization of the Ethereum network.

Therefore, node operators have specific hardware requirements and need to meet other AVS demands, often being professional node operation organizations.

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Token stakers can delegate their tokens to node operators, but if the operator faces operational issues or disconnection penalties, the stakers' funds may be at risk.

Phase Two of EigenLayer: Mainnet Launch

The general direction of Phase Two is to first open the registration process for node operators, then activate EigenDA once everything is confirmed, allowing node operators to become part of the network for mainnet validation.

Phase Two of EigenLayer will progress in stages.

Final Testing on Testnet

Prior to deployment on the mainnet, the EigenLayer team tests all changes on the testnet. Due to Goerli no longer being actively maintained by the Ethereum client teams, the final testnet version has moved to Holesky.

Frontend Web and Contract Pauses

The EigenLayer frontend and all contracts on the mainnet will be paused to reduce interference for node operators joining the ecosystem.

Gradual Operator Registration

Operators will be able to gradually register on the EigenLayer mainnet, while performance testing and growth control measures are implemented to ensure network stability.

EigenDA Launch

EigenDA is the first AVS launched on EigenLayer. EigenDA supports Rollups' data availability DA, with a target write bandwidth of 10 MB/s upon release.

Node operators can start choosing to become nodes on EigenDA at this stage.

Mainnet Launch Completion

The EigenLayer frontend will be updated to include a new staker control panel and node operator list page.

After this phase is completed, the delegation feature will be open, and stakers' deposit and withdrawal functions will be reactivated.

Critical Period for EigenLayer's Implementation

Before the completion of Phase Two of EigenLayer and the launch of the mainnet, the liquidity staked in LST tokens, including stETH and swETH, currently serves no real purpose, as the market is mainly driven by points and potential airdrop opportunities. The team's marketing strategy has proven effective in the market frenzy.

However, once Phase Two of EigenLayer is completed, the staked LST will truly become useful and start bearing risks to receive corresponding rewards. Only then, with more AVS joining, will EigenLayer gradually transform into a healthy, sustainable product.

Phase Two is the critical period for EigenLayer to truly land, and the team is waiting with anticipation.

If Phase Two progresses smoothly as expected, the official launch of the EigenLayer mainnet is anticipated in the second half of this year, reaching the development of Phase Three.