EigenLayer is a protocol on Ethereum that enables restaking, allowing staked ETH to secure additional services and modules beyond the base network.
Stakers can participate in two ways:
Solo staking: Stakers operate their own nodes and actively validate modules, maintaining full control over their infrastructure.
Delegation: Stakers delegate the technical work to EigenLayer operators, offering a simpler option for those who prefer not to manage nodes directly.
EigenLayer aggregates the security of ETH across multiple modules, meaning that decentralized applications benefit from the combined economic weight of restaked assets rather than relying on a small validator set. This can lower the barrier to building new protocols, since innovators do not need to launch their own trust network from scratch.
In 2025, the EigenLayer team launched EigenCloud, a platform for developers to build off-chain apps and services. The full project was then rebranded into EigenCloud in 2026, but EigenLayer remains the underlying protocol on which restaking takes place, while EigenCloud refers to the broader platform built around it.
EigenLayer also functions as a testing ground for Ethereum innovations. Experimental ideas can be deployed as AVSs and validated by restaked ETH before being considered for integration into the Ethereum base layer. This staged approach may reduce risk while allowing the ecosystem to iterate more quickly.