EigenLayer, the hotly anticipated Ethereum restaking protocol that has attracted billions in customer deposits, made its debut on the Ethereum mainnet on Tuesday. However, the launch comes with training wheels attached, as critical components won't go live until later this year.

Restaking allows staked ether (ETH) used to secure the Ethereum network to be further "restaked" and utilized to run various blockchain applications built as "actively validated services" (AVSs) on top of EigenLayer. With the mainnet launch, restakers can now delegate their restaked ETH balances to EigenLayer operators who can then deploy AVSs.

The protocol's data availability solution, EigenDA, also went live as one of the first AVSs validated on EigenLayer's infrastructure.

Despite the partial rollout, EigenLayer has already amassed a war chest, with its total value locked (TVL) racing above $13 billion in recent months. This makes it the second-largest decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, according to crypto data site DeFiLlama. EigenLayer's unique "points" system for depositors, speculated to determine allocation of a future token, has fueled rapid capital inflows.

Liquid restaking derivatives like stETH have also turbocharged EigenLayer's growth by allowing users to restake ETH while retaining liquidity.

However, some experts have raised red flags over potential systemic risks from restaking - an entirely unproven model until now for enhancing Ethereum's security.

For now, those risks may be kept at bay. EigenLayer stated it will allow its marketplace to "develop and stabilize" before activating critical functions like in-protocol payments and slashing penalties for misbehaving operators later this year.

According to Ian Unsworth from Kairos Research, delaying slashing could create initial over-collateralization, as operators race to support all AVSs without risk of penalties. But once live, "we will see a 'de-leveraging' so to speak, as the stake gets re-delegated to reflect the actual risk."

The mainnet transition also marks a key milestone for major investors like Andreessen Horowitz, which backed EigenLayer with $150 million. Recently funded AVS projects like sequencer marketplace Espresso and restaked rollup AltLayer are now cleared to build atop EigenLayer.

Liquid restaking upstarts like ether.fi's $23 million Series A also have skin in the game, aiming to integrate with EigenLayer's restaking infrastructure.

While training wheels are still on, EigenLayer has taken crypto's biggest stage, with billions belonging to depositors now on the line as the restaking experiment plays out in real-time on Ethereum's high-stakes main arena.