Andreessen Horowitz Invests $100 Million in Ethereum Restaking Protocol EigenLayer
In Brief
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) invested $100 million in decentralized Ethereum restaking protocol EigenLayer to accelerate project’s development.
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz invested $100 million in the cryptocurrency startup EigenLayer, which is focused on developing a decentralized Ethereum restaking protocol. According to EigenLayer founder Sreeram Kannan, Andreessen Horowitz was the exclusive supporter in the funding round.
EigenLayer facilitates a process of restaking that has witnessed significant popularity in recent months. Restaking is derived from the Ethereum network’s (ETH) staking method, where tokens are deposited or “staked” to the network to facilitate the validation of transactions on the blockchain. Restaking enables emerging projects built on the Ethereum blockchain to utilize its security features for their own network operations.
Currently, EigenLayer provides a points system for users engaging in restaking through its platform, and the startup has no intentions to introduce any cryptocurrency token.
EigenLayer raised $50 million in a preceding funding round, with Blockchain Capital leading the investment.
Launched on the Ethereum mainnet last year, the first phase of EigenLayer‘s protocol enabled users to deposit liquid staking tokens (LSTs) from three staking projects: Lido, Rocket Pool, and Coinbase. The protocol has since expanded to include additional LSTs, such as Stakewise’s sETH, Mantle’s mETH, Frax’s sfrxETH, Ankr’s ankrETH, and Binance’s wBETH. EigenLayer recently reached approximately $6 billion in total value locked (TVL) as its uncapped deposits window concluded. EigenLayer is currently approaching the $8 billion mark in TVL, according to DeFiLlama.
Increasing Interest in Ethereum Restaking and Revitalizing VC Activity
The TVL for liquid restaking tokens exceeded $3.5 billion earlier this week, showcasing a rising interest in this niche among Ethereum investors.
Affected by the announcement, the native token of Pendle Finance (PENDLE), a protocol tokenizing future yield on Ethereum, experienced a 13.22% increase in value within a brief timeframe and is currently trading at 2.87 USDT.
The news comes despite the substantial decline in venture funding, which reached its peak of $13.5 billion in Q1 2022. Last year, Andreessen Horowitz was among the leading contributors to cryptocurrency-related venture funding, according to PitchBook. Despite the overall trend, the firm managed to raise a record $4.5 billion cryptocurrency fund in 2022 and continues to actively seek investments in the cryptocurrency space.
The new investment in EigenLayer underscores the growing significance of the project, responding to heightened user demand for staking capital to earn rewards, while simultaneously highlighting the resurgence in venture capital activity.
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Alisa is a reporter for the Metaverse Post. She focuses on investments, AI, metaverse, and everything related to Web3. Alisa has a degree in Business of Art and expertise in Art & Tech. She has developed her passion for journalism through writing for VCs, notable crypto projects, and scientific writing. You can contact her at alisa@mpost.io
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Alisa is a reporter for the Metaverse Post. She focuses on investments, AI, metaverse, and everything related to Web3. Alisa has a degree in Business of Art and expertise in Art & Tech. She has developed her passion for journalism through writing for VCs, notable crypto projects, and scientific writing. You can contact her at alisa@mpost.io
