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EigenLayer and Ethena (2024)

Restaking and synthetic dollars.

Restaking

EigenLayer, launched on Ethereum mainnet in June 2023, lets stakers opt in to extra slashing conditions so their stake secures additional services called AVSs. Deposits grew to over $15 billion by mid-2024, largely through liquid restaking tokens from ether.fi, Renzo and Puffer.

Points and EIGEN

EigenLayer distributed restaking points before announcing EIGEN in April 2024. The first stakedrop allocated 5 percent of the 1.67 billion supply, with tokens initially non-transferable until September 30, 2024, which drew criticism.

Ethena's synthetic dollar

Ethena launched USDe publicly in February 2024. Each USDe is backed by staked ETH or BTC and an equal short perpetual futures position, so price exposure cancels while the position earns staking yield plus funding.

The funding engine

When funding rates were high in March 2024, sUSDe yields exceeded 30 percent. Yield falls when funding turns negative; Ethena holds a reserve fund to cover such periods. USDe supply passed $3 billion within months.

ENA and shared risks

ENA airdropped 750 million tokens on April 2, 2024. Both primitives stack risks: slashing on EigenLayer and exchange custody, funding and liquidation risks for Ethena.

By the numbers

For EigenLayer and Ethena, the reference figures are eigenlayer of Restaking, avs of Shared security, ethena of USDe, model of Delta-neutral. The comparison table below lines up metric, eigenlayer, ethena — Launch: Jun 2023 / Feb 2024; Token: EIGEN (1.67B) / ENA (15B); Yield source: AVS rewards / Staking + funding; Key risk: Slashing / Negative funding.

Modeling EigenLayer and Ethena with the Restaking Eigenlayer AVS Yield Calculator

The Restaking Eigenlayer AVS Yield Calculator takes three inputs — Base APY (%), AVS APY (%), Stake ($). Annual yield = stake × (base + AVS). With its default inputs (Base APY (%) = 3.2; AVS APY (%) = 2; Stake ($) = 10000) it returns 520 $; swap in the figures from EigenLayer and Ethena above to reproduce the scenario yourself.

Modeling EigenLayer and Ethena with the Perpetual Funding Rate Carry Calculator

The Perpetual Funding Rate Carry Calculator takes three inputs — Notional ($), Funding per 8h (%), Days. Carry = notional × rate × 3 × days. With its default inputs (Notional ($) = 10000; Funding per 8h (%) = 0.01; Days = 30) it returns 90 $; swap in the figures from EigenLayer and Ethena above to reproduce the scenario yourself.

Data Table

For educational and informational purposes only. Not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Figures are approximate and historical; crypto assets are volatile and you may lose capital. Do your own research.