Airdrop of the eigen token kicks off: restaking begins

The Ethereum restaking protocol, EigenLayer, has initiated the token claiming process, commonly referred to as an "airdrop," to distribute rewards for Phase 1 in Season 1.

This news was confirmed through a blog post by the development team. Eligible users can now obtain the new EIGEN token through the claiming process after a waiting period of several weeks.

It's worth noting that EIGEN tokens are currently non-transferable, meaning users cannot trade or sell them. However, the blog post mentions that EIGEN tokens will become transferable in the future once the development team implements new functionalities in the coming months, with a targeted implementation date of September 30.

Users are required to claim their tokens before the deadline of September 7. The team specified that tokens not claimed after this date will not be distributed.

According to EigenLayer, EIGEN tokens are not available to users in over 30 countries, including the United States, Russia, China, and Canada. Attempts to bypass this restriction using VPN server addresses are not permitted.

As of now, 6.05% of the total EIGEN token supply allocated for Phase 1 has been unlocked. Additionally, 0.7% of the tokens will be unlocked in mid-June during "Phase 2."

The ongoing airdrop primarily targets users who have restaked Ether or its liquid staking derivatives on EigenLayer before March 15.

Users holding liquid restaking tokens (LRT) can now claim their rewards, provided their activities do not fall under "Phase 2."

Furthermore, users who restaked on EigenLayer between March 15 and April 29 can now claim a bonus of 100 tokens. However, most of these requests will be available in mid-June along with other Phase 2 participants.

The EIGEN airdrop has sparked controversy within the decentralized finance (DeFi) community. While some see it as potentially transformative, others criticize it for its VPN server ban, distribution of non-transferable tokens, and perceived short snapshot period.

LayerZero Labs, a prominent cross-chain interoperability protocol, is taking steps to address the issue of "sybil farmers" ahead of its anticipated airdrop. The project plans to conduct an internal investigation to identify and exclude these users from receiving allocations in its future token generation event. Additionally, it will launch a reward program offering a 10% bonus of token allocation to those who successfully identify users with "sybil" accounts.

LayerZero Labs recently completed the first snapshot for its highly anticipated airdrop. In December, the project announced plans to distribute tokens to early adopters in the first half of 2024.