Withdrawal Surge:

EigenLayer, the largest Ethereum restaking protocol, has experienced over 12,412 withdrawal requests in response to disappointment surrounding its planned EIGEN airdrop. The mass withdrawals began on April 29, with over 4,336 daily withdrawals, increasing to 6,496 on April 30.

Excluded Jurisdictions:

The withdrawal surge followed EigenLayer's release of a white paper on its EIGEN token, which excluded several key jurisdictions, including the United States, Canada, and several African and Asian countries, from the airdrop. This exclusion led to widespread disappointment among participants.

Impact on TVL:

EigenLayer, which has over 107,000 unique depositors, could see its total value locked (TVL) reduced from $14.8 billion to just above $13 billion, assuming the 11.6% of unique depositors who have withdrawn represent the total impact.

Processing Period:

EigenLayer has a seven-day withdrawal processing period, meaning the effects of the mass withdrawals will become visible in the following weeks.

Rise of Karak:

As EigenLayer's TVL fell over 4% in the past week, Karak's TVL rose 20.5% to $439 million, making it the second-biggest restaking protocol on Ethereum. Karak is seen as having a "good chance" of becoming the next EigenLayer, offering technical benefits and more flexible restaking tokens.

EigenLayer Faces Mass Withdrawals Following Disappointing EIGEN Airdrop