Eigen Foundation Pledges 1% of EIGEN Token Supply to Protocol Guild for Ethereum Layer 1 R&D

The Eigen Foundation has announced its pledge to allocate 1% of the EIGEN token supply to the Protocol Guild, a collective funding mechanism dedicated to supporting Ethereum Layer 1 R&D.

The latest pledge forms part of the team’s mission to create a marketplace for “programmable trust” through its decentralized restaking protocol.

Eigen Foundation’s 1% Token Pledge

The Protocol Guild, which comprises over 180 members from 29 teams, plays a crucial role in maintaining Ethereum’s decentralized network. Its members focus on key areas such as client development, research, specification design, testing, and coordination. This ensures Ethereum’s continuous evolution and resilience against centralized capture.

EigenLayer enables staked ETH to serve as cryptoeconomic security for other protocols, improving Ethereum’s security while supporting innovation. By dedicating a portion of its token supply to the Protocol Guild, the Eigen Foundation aligns its goals with the Guild’s mission of ensuring sustainable incentives for Ethereum’s maintainers. Its official statement read,

“This commitment aligns with EigenLayer’s mission: To extend Ethereum’s security through restaking and creating a marketplace for programmable trust. We’re proud to contribute to Ethereum’s growth and long-term sustainability.

The latest development comes after the Eigen Foundation announced the EIGEN Season 2 Stakedrop in September. This distribution initiative aimed at recognizing contributors and participants who have supported its development.

The entity had then stated that the stakedrop would allocate EIGEN tokens across three categories: stakers and operators who actively participated during the season, ecosystem partners such as rollups and RaaS providers, and community members who have played a pivotal role in advocating for EigenLayer.

A month later,  EIGEN debuted on several exchanges in one of the most heavily discussed and anticipated token launches of 2024.

EigenLayer’s Growth And Two Security Breaches

Launched by Sreeram Kannan in early 2021, EigenLayer rose to prominence as a leading DeFi project in 2024, with over $18 billion in total value locked (TVL) as reported by DeFiLlama. However, EigenLayer suffered a $5.7 million hack involving stolen tokens sold via decentralized exchanges.

The protocol faced another security breach on October 18 when its official X account was hacked. The attackers used the compromised account to advertise a fake airdrop campaign, directing users to malicious links disguised as part of the concluded Season 2 token distribution. On-chain investigator ZachXBT and Polygon Labs’ Mudit Gupta quickly warned users to avoid these links. Scam Sniffer later confirmed the phishing scheme.