this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2023
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Should I EigenLayer?
I'm having a hard time deciding if I should point one of my validators at an EigenPod, and I'd appreciate some input.
I've been thinking about this for weeks. I went through all the documentation, created a pod, and have a json file ready to set my withdrawal address for a single validator (I still have 0x00 credentials, because I don't want to declare my reward income yet, and the process of changing credentials is frankly terrifying).
In contrast to LST restaking, native restaking on EigenLayer has been slow to gain traction. As of this writing, 134 validators have signed up, out of an expected initial cohort of approximately 300. Based on Sreeram's recent Bankless panel participation, I believe those fewer than 300 brave (stupid?) souls will receive a significant airdrop in the future, and may have privileged access to lucrative opportunities.
I'm honestly torn. If there's a problem with the BeaconProxy contract, losing a validator would suck, but it wouldn't significantly damage my crypto prospects. Part of me thinks EigenLayer is a grave threat to Ethereum, and should be shunned. Another part of me is excited about the possibility of being among the first to participate in something genuinely innovative.
What say you, fam? I'm leaning toward broadcasting the message. It should be an interesting journey, even if it ends in disaster
I’m personally sitting this one out. I’ve watched Sreeram’s lectures and I share some excitement about the innovative concept of Eigenlayer. I can see that the additional degree of abstraction that it brings creates novel use cases that cleverly leverage Ethereum’s consensus protocol.
But I’ve also chosen to forego some yield by solo-staking instead of playing the LST game because I want what’s best not just for myself, but for the Ethereum network of which I consider myself a modest but principled steward.
For now, I’m applying the same cautious logic to Eigenlayer. I may be foregoing some hypothetical future airdrops and extra yield, but I won’t rush into something so fresh that its impact is not yet fully understood. Like you, the risk of slashing my own node is not even my main concern; the risk of subverting the network is.
The most neutral advice I can give is to read Vitalik’s post on the topic if you haven’t done so already (https://vitalik.ca/general/2023/05/21/dont_overload.html) and decide how much risk the restaking use case you’re considering brings to Ethereum.
I have the exact same viewpoint. Hopefully the coredevs design the protocol such that this behaviour is discouraged if it really does bring a net negative effect to the network. Can't expect all participants to be foregoing yields in the long run.
if you're already apprehensive about changing the credentials at all, then I don't get why you're even considering pointing them at the eigenlayer smart contract which should be infinitely more scary. But if it interests you and losing a validator wouldn't completely sink you, then why not do it for 1 validator? It won't expose the rest of your stack
personally I'm too risk averse to deal with eigenlayer at this time, I like the idea of restaking but the way it works right now feels a bit to wonky and thorny
Here’s an interesting thread (on Twitter, unfortunately) about the centralization risks of restaking: https://twitter.com/0xidanlevin/status/1675866647800709127