We discussed a few weeks ago how the response to EigenLayer’s EIGEN airdrop led to a significant increase in the number of queued withdrawals on the platform.

Although there were some issues with the airdrop, such as VPN restrictions and a non-transferable period for the tokens, the Eigen Foundation addressed these concerns a few days later by expanding the airdrop allocations and clarifying the timing for token unlocks and transferability, which helped ease some fears.

Some users might have only deposited into EigenLayer to benefit from the airdrop and were content to leave the platform after the snapshot was taken, not just those upset by the initial EIGEN reveal.

We are now seeing the actual effects of the increased withdrawal queue. Withdrawals are subject to a 7-day escrow period, so outflows are tracked about a week after they are initiated. The number of queued withdrawals increased on April 29, when the EIGEN tokenomics were announced, but the actual withdrawals from EigenLayer surged starting on May 6, after the escrow period ended.

Beyond the withdrawals, we can now better understand the capital flight facing EigenLayer. The number of depositors increased in mid-April after the mainnet launch and the unpausing of deposits for liquid staking tokens, so the rise in withdrawals did not immediately pose significant issues for the platform.

The situation has been relatively manageable so far. Since May 6, there have been four days when daily net outflows exceeded $45 million, but this amount is small compared to EigenLayer’s nearly $15 billion in total value locked (TVL), so the funds securing the network have remained largely stable.

While net negative days have become more common since the EIGEN launch, there are still net positive days, such as when the platform gained $57 million on May 15. The initial surge in withdrawals appears to be calming down, though daily withdrawals remain higher than before the token reveal.

Now that EigenLayer has launched its mainnet, it can pass on the additional yield to depositors as promised. As the restaking platform with the largest security network, EigenLayer will likely attract new services looking to avoid bootstrapping their own liquidity. This could help attract new services and boost depositors' rewards, encouraging users to keep their funds with the protocol.