Special thanks to Nader, Nima, Jessy & Soubhik for comments & feedback on this post.
Two years ago, the concept of restaking was relatively unknown. At ETHCC this year, two separate restaking events were held on the same day. It's fair to say that its become one of the most popular areas in crypto right now. So, this is another blog post to clarify the new concept introduced by restaking: Actively Validated Services (AVSs).
This post will provide an overview of the EigenLayer Actively Validated Service (AVS) ecosystem, now the largest & most popular restaking ecosystem.
It's not a deep dive into a specific application but rather an introduction to what an AVS even is & what people are building.
Introduction
If this is your first post on EigenLayer, I recommend you hop onto this post first to learn about how it works.
In simple terms, EigenLayer builds on Ethereum by introducing a new way to use staked ETH for additional tasks.
Its core concept is to utilize Ethereum's established economic trust as a foundation for building infrastructure components called Actively Validated Services(AVS). In doing so, EigenLayer redefines bootstrapping for Proof of Stake (PoS) networks.
Let’s look at the key players & their roles before getting into the services that can be built on EigenLayer. Participants and Roles
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Stakers: Individuals who commit their ETH to support new networks and services. They can operate independently (Native Restaking) or delegate their ETH to operators (Liquid Restaking).
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Operators: Participants who manage technical and operational aspects of new networks/services. They are compensated through the rewards generated by their activities. To ensure trust and integrity, operators risk penalties (slashing) if they engage in misconduct.
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**Actively Validated Services (AVS): **The services and networks that require dedicated validation and operational efforts. They are not necessarily consumer applications, but instead services that the consumer apps may require.
I want to add another participant, which is the service consumer.
- Service Consumers: Applications and/or users that utilize the services provided by AVSs.
An AVS comprises a set of offchain container(s) + onchain smart contract(s).
To categorize AVSs, I've found this article from Coinbase very helpful. I'll follow a similar categorization with some tweaks.
Let's break down the main categories of services/networks being built on EigenLayer as the following:
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Rollup Services: Services that rollups (layer 2 scaling solutions) utilize.
- E.g.: data availability layers, bridges, and shared sequencers.
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Decentralized Networks: Services that require a distributed set of validators.
- E.g.: oracles and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePin).
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Privacy: Privacy-preserving tools/services.
- E.g.: Zero-knowledge (ZK) coprocessors and Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs).
Before discussing these networks/services, it's important to once again clarify EigenLayer's role. With EigenLayer, a new service does not have to create a whole new network effect but instead can ask Ethereum stakers for capital and Ethereum validators to run the services.
Let’s add one more category where EigenLayer has a different role.
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Developer & Operator Tools: Developer tools are the tools that help build an AVS, and the operator services help run the operator software.
- E.g.: developer tools and frameworks and operator services for managing node infrastructure and validator tasks.
Now let's get into each of these services/networks and talk about the projects that are currently building them.
RollUp Services
These are the services that the rollups (layer2 scaling solutions) can utilize.
Although we can add them to the decentralized networks category, having separate rollup services for the most common services can help us quickly identify rollup needs.
1. Data Availability
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What is it?
- A Data Availability (DA) Layer ensures that all transaction data on a blockchain is stored, accessible, and can be independently verified.
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Why does it matter?
- Blockchains have limitations in handling large volumes of data and transactions per second. Maintaining this data on-chain without compromising performance is challenging as the network grows. Along with the scalability challenges, storing all data on the blockchain is expensive. Each node in the network must store and process this data, leading to high operational costs and slower network performance. By offloading data storage to a separate DA layer, the Layer1 blockchain can focus on consensus and transaction processing, enabling higher transaction throughput and better scalability.
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Who is building DA layers on EigenLayer?
- EigenDA: the first AVS (built by EigenLabs), they already have networks building on top of it, including MegaETH, Abstract Chain, Layer N, Movement Labs, Celo, Mantle , Versatus, Cyber & more.
2. Shared Sequencing (aka Decentralised Sequencing)
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What is it?
- Shared Sequencing organizes transactions in a specific order across different layers or applications.
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Why does it matter?
- Unlike traditional Sequencing, which is handled by each network individually, shared Sequencing coordinates transaction ordering across different layers and applications to maintain consistency and avoids having a central point that determines the ordering.
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Who is building Shared Sequencing?
- Project(s): Espresso Systems, Radius, Zellular
3. Interoperability Layers
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What is it?
- Interoperability layers enable different blockchains to communicate and work together. They facilitate data transfer and assets across various networks, ensuring that different systems can interact and share resources.
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Why does it matter?
- These layers enable sharing resources, such as data and assets, across multiple blockchains. Interoperability layers open new possibilities for decentralized applications that can leverage multiple blockchain networks by allowing blockchains to interact.
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Who is building Interoperability Layers?
4. Roll-up-as-a-service (RaaS)
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What is it?
- Rollup-as-a-Service (RaaS) enables developers to create and deploy rollups.
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Why does it matter?
- Rollups significantly increase the transaction throughput of blockchain networks by processing multiple transactions off-chain and then batching them together. By reducing the amount of data processed on-chain, rollups also lower transaction costs for users and developers. A RaaS makes it very easy to create and deploy a rollup.
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Who is building RaaS?
Let's make the RaaS offering more tangible by looking at Conduit's interface. As you can see from the screenshot below, I can build a stack (with an option to use EigenDA) and then deploy my rollup, which would take approximately 15 minutes!
At this point, it's important to mention Restaked rollups. These are rollups that depend on one or more AVSs built on EigenLayer.
Here’s a good post to read more about RaaS.
Decentralized Networks
These are services/networks that require a distributed set of validators. By having multiple validators, networks ensure that no single entity controls the entire system. This reduces the risk of malicious activities and ensures the network remains secure and neutral.
Let’s bring some clarity to what some of these services are.
1. Oracles
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What is it?
- Oracles are services that bring external data into the blockchain for use in smart contracts. They bridge the blockchain and the outside world, providing information such as price feeds, weather data, and other real-world events.
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Why does it matter?
- Accurate and timely data is essential for the correct execution of smart contracts. For example, when you make a swap, you want the correct exchange rate at the time of the swap.
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Who is building Oracles?
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Project(s): Eoracle
- Eoracle is already live on eigenlayer with over 100 operators.
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2. DePin (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks)
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What is it?
- DePin connects physical devices to the blockchain for managing and operating the devices. This includes Internet of Things (IoT) devices, sensors, and other physical infrastructure components that require autonomous operations, and in many cases uninterrupted connectivity.
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Why does it matter?
- DePin enables new use cases and applications by integrating physical infrastructure with blockchain, such as smart cities and pet collars.
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Who is building DePin networks?
- Project(s): OpenLayer, Witness Chain
Privacy
Privacy-preserving technologies need their own category. These are services that provide different privacy tools for blockchain networks.
Let's look at some of the examples.
1. ZK (Zero-Knowledge) coprocessors
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What is it?
- Zero-Knowledge (ZK) proofs is a cryptographic method that allows data to be verified without revealing the data itself. In other words, they enable one party to prove to another that a statement is true without disclosing any underlying information.
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Why does it matter?
- ZK proofs protect sensitive information by proving the validity of data without exposing it. They also minimize the amount of data shared, reducing potential attack vectors. Another important property is the scalability aspect; ZK proofs can improve efficiency by streamlining the verification process. (ZKP is a huge topic, and you should read my blog post over here to continue.)
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Who is building ZK coprocessors?
2. TEE (Trusted Execution Environments)
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What is it?
- Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) provide isolated environments within a device where sensitive data can be processed securely.
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Why does it matter?
- TEEs and encryption protect sensitive information, ensuring that it remains secure and unaltered during processing and storage.
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Who is building TEE & Encryption services?
- Project(s): Automata
3. FHE (Fully Homomorphic Encryption) coprocessors
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What is it?
- FHE (Fully Homomorphic Encryption) coprocessors are specialized processors that handle confidential computations off-chain. They ensure that data remains encrypted and private during processing.
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Why does it matter?
- They provide secure computation over encrypted data, ensuring that sensitive information remains private. Additionally, offloading computational tasks from the L1 blockchain to dedicated coprocessors improves transaction processing speed and overall network performance.
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Who is building FHE coprocessors?
- Project(s): Fhenix
Services for AVS Builders: Developer & Operator Tools
This section is about the tools that are required for building AVSs.
1. Developer Tools and Frameworks
Building an AVS involves many steps, some of which are the same for many. Developer tools and frameworks are resources that simplify the process of building AVSs by creating components that can be used for building.
These tools simplify the development process by providing pre-built components and standardized workflows, making it easier and faster for developers to build complex applications.
Othentic is building a framework for developers to streamline the development of AVSs.
2. Operators & Operator Services
Operators in EigenLayer are responsible for the technical operations of AVSs.
Operating an AVS requires more specialized skills than running a standard Ethereum node. Unlike Ethereum validators, who validate transactions and blocks, operators manage specific tasks within AVS, including additional functionalities like data handling or cross-chain services.
Remember that operators potentially face higher rewards and risks due to the specialized nature of the services they manage, including potentially higher rewards, higher stakes, and more slashing conditions.
As the name indicates - operator services help operators manage their node infrastructure, validator tasks, and/or staking operations.
The operator landscape is one of its own; we will not be getting into it for this article. If you've made it this far - you're probably pretty curious, so I definitely want to leave you with some resources to learn more:
Conclusion
By leveraging Ethereum's security, EigenLayer enables the launch and operation of Actively Validated Services (AVS) such as data availability layers, decentralized networks, and privacy tools. This simplifies development, accelerates innovation and reduces entry barriers for new projects, similar to how cloud services transformed app development. Just as the cloud became a fundamental layer for modern internet applications, EigenLayer aims to become a foundation for decentralized (aka web3) services.