Restaking ecosystem has achieved two important milestones: the launch of EigenLayer (and EigenDA) on the mainnet, and the first batch of AVS (Actively Validated Services) on the mainnet, including AltLayer, Brevis, eoracle, Lagrange, Witness Chain, and Xterio.
AVS is the ultimate embodiment of the practicality and security of the EigenLayer protocol. Previous Restaking protocols (such as Renzo/Puffer) or token liquidity staking were just the starting point and means to attract liquidity in the ecosystem. Previously, more ETH entered the Restaking ecosystem and mobilized more nodes through incentive supply. AVS has the potential to release demand and provide more value for crypto and decentralized networks.
The first batch of AVS is distributed across various tracks, including Rollup-as-a-Service, oracles, ZK protocol processing, DePIN, and games. The most notable is the ZK coprocessor, a relatively new concept with no mature product, and EigenLayer supports both Brevis and Lagrange in the first batch.
Furthermore, the launch of EigenLayer’s mainnet does not mean that the protocol has entered a mature stage. There are still many unclear modules and solutions, such as the slashing mechanism for future nodes and how to ensure the security of AVS from an economic perspective. The design of token economics also needs to be disclosed by the team in the future.
AVS, which stands for Actively Validated Services, is a concept defined in the EigenLayer protocol. Simply put, AVS can be analogized as “middleware” that provides services for end products, such as data and verification capabilities. For example, “oracles” often mentioned are not end products themselves, but they can provide data services for DeFi, games, wallets, and others, making them one type of AVS.
The downstream of AVS is likely an end product that directly caters to ordinary users. The upstream of AVS consists of nodes participating in Restaking, who support specific AVS by using the ETH collected through protocols like Puffer/Renzo. Compared to most protocols, EigenLayer’s business model is relatively straightforward. End users will directly or indirectly pay for the products they use, and the fees will be allocated to AVS, node operators, EigenLayer protocol, and users providing Restaking ETH. The specific allocation may vary, and in the early stage, the advantages of crypto “token economics” can be utilized to reward users with the protocol’s native tokens.
Therefore, further development of more types of AVS and ensuring the reliability of AVS services for end products are necessary to complete the entire ecosystem.
AltLayer is a “Rollup-as-a-Service” (RaaS) provider that customizes the deployment of Layer 2 networks, such as Rollup networks, according to demand. The choice of DA (Data Availability) is crucial for a Rollup network. Therefore, in addition to Ethereum, AltLayer also supports EigenDA developed by EigenLayer.
In addition, AltLayer has collaborated with EigenLayer to introduce the Restaked Rollup framework and provided three modular AVS: VITAL (AVS for decentralized verification of Rollup’s state), MACH (AVS for fast finality), and SQUAD (AVS for decentralized sequencing). These AVS aim to address the problems of slow finality, centralized settlement layer, and sequencer in the blockchain. The module launched this time is MACH, which serves Xterio and Optimism.
Brevis offers a solution that utilizes AVS to implement the capabilities of ZK coprocessors. Some team members of Brevis come from the cross-chain bridge protocol Celer Network, and Mo Dong is the co-founder of both projects. He also gave a speech on “A Smart ZK Coprocessor” at the Hong Kong Web3 Scholars Conference.
Brevis proposes the coChain solution to further reduce the cost of implementing “ZK coprocessors” based on smart contracts and zero-knowledge proof technology. It provides a more cost-effective solution and enables capabilities that were previously impossible. After all, the EVM has many limitations and restrictions.
Brevis coChain is a PoS blockchain that relies on ETH staking to ensure its security and depends on the EigenLayer protocol. It is a combination of “optimistic” and “ZK” mechanisms, or fraud-proof and validity-proof mechanisms. If any malicious behavior is detected, a challenge can be initiated by generating zero-knowledge proofs and punishing the malicious party. This also involves game theory and the design and considerations of token economics.
The eoracle protocol, the name derived from (e)thereum + oracle, claims to be the first “native” oracle on Ethereum. This may be because the security of this oracle is guaranteed by staked ETH, while oracles like Chainlink rely on Chainlink’s node network and its token LINK for security, which has a different security assumption.
The demand and business model of oracles are much clearer compared to other AVS. Many DeFi and RWA projects require off-chain data, and oracle networks verify the data through participating nodes.
eoracle explicitly states that it will adopt a dual-token model. Other AVS may also adopt this model, meaning that the security of the network relies on Restaked ETH and native tokens are issued to incentivize nodes. The specific uses and designs of native tokens have not been disclosed yet, but they believe that native tokens can promote network participation, ensure fair value distribution, and decentralize the eoracle protocol.
Lagrange is also a ZK coprocessor but emphasizes the concept of “parallel.” It is somewhat similar to the services provided by Brevis.
The Lagrange team claims that their designed ZK coprocessor natively supports parallelization and horizontal scalability. It can easily prove the results of large-scale distributed computation stored on the chain or transaction data and distribute the proof workload to thousands of working nodes simultaneously. Security is also guaranteed by the ETH on EigenLayer.
Last month, Renzo, Swell, and Puffer also announced their collaboration with Lagrange. These three parties will allocate $500 million worth of Restaked ETH to Lagrange. Lagrange has designed some features for these platforms based on its protocol, such as the ability to retrieve on-chain historical data from Lagrange and calculate scores for users based on this data.
The name “Lagrange” comes from the mathematician, mechanic, and astronomer “Lagrange.”
Witness Chain is a network designed specifically for decentralized IoT devices. It includes various components, such as the DePIN Coordination Layer (DCL), which provides basic services needed for the DePIN ecosystem, such as the security of the chain, node bandwidth, and physical location. They refer to these basic services as “watchtowers” to measure and generate valid proofs and be used in the DCL layer. This concept aligns with the literal meaning of “witness” in Witness Chain: “to testify.”
Xterio is slightly different from the other AVS mentioned above. It is a Layer 2 blockchain built on EigenDA and OP Stack, released using AltLayer’s RaaS. Xterio Chain will focus on AI and Web3 gaming-related scenarios. AltLayer states that Xterio L2 uses the MACH AVS for fast finality. AltLayer also provides MACH services to the mainnet of Optimism.
EigenLayer will definitely have more types of AVS launched. However, the system risks brought by EigenLayer to the Ethereum ecosystem are also a concern for many people. EigenLayer bypasses “smart contracts” and directly takes over the Ethereum node ecosystem, which is different from all other Ethereum-based protocols before. However, this is also the charm of permissionless systems. Even without EigenLayer, others would attempt this direction.
In addition, Lido, as the largest liquidity staking protocol in the Ethereum ecosystem, holds the most staked ETH and has many node operators. The potential conflict of interests between EigenLayer and Lido may prompt Lido to reconsider its business model and sustainability. EigenLayer itself also needs time to gradually fill in the missing modules.
AltLayer
AVS
Brevis
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EigenLayer
eoracle
Lagrange
Witness Chain
Xterio