EigenLayer is distributing an additional 100 EIGEN to 280,000 eligible wallet addresses due to feedback received about its initial airdrop.
EigenLayer, the Ethereum staking protocol, plans to distribute about 28 million more EIGEN tokens to upwards of 280,000 wallets—just a few days after it revealed details of its first airdrop.
EigenLayer revealed on Monday that it will designate 15% of its total supply for community distribution. However, certain community members deemed several elements of the airdrop program as overly restrictive.
In a May 2 post on X, the Eigen Foundation announced that it would airdrop extra EIGEN tokens to users who engaged with the protocol before April 29, including those who claimed tokens in the first airdrop.
A follow-up blog post from the restaking protocol outlined that Season 1 claimants will receive at least 110 EIGEN tokens, while Season 2 claimants—those who used the protocol from March 15 to April 29—will get a minimum of 100 EIGEN tokens.
In a follow-up blog post, the restocking protocol announced that, with the additional airdrop bonus, Season 1 claimants will receive at least 110 EIGEN, while Season 2 claimants—those who interacted with the protocol from March 15 to April 29—are guaranteed a minimum of 100 EIGEN.
Although the EIGEN token hasn’t officially launched, Aevo data shows that perpetual futures contracts for EIGEN are trading at about $10 on the derivatives market. This indicates that the recent airdrop might have an estimated value of around $280 million.
The value of EIGEN might fluctuate considerably before its official distribution event scheduled for May 10.
After the retaking protocol announced its “stakedrop” program on April 30, users who the initial airdrop excluded expressed their frustration.
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Critics focused on EIGEN’s nontransferable token structure, a community allocation of just 15%, and the “aggressive” geo-blocking and anti-VPN measures that prevented users from 30 countries—including the United States, Canada, China, and Russia—from claiming EIGEN tokens.
EigenLayer announced that it plans to include more of its testnet users who might have been left out of the airdrop.
“Missed testnet user allocations will be updated as part of Phase 2 of Season 1. We will provide more details in the coming weeks,” wrote EigenLayer.
The Eigen Foundation’s first airdrop announcement stated that users could claim their tokens starting on May 10, but they couldn’t transfer or sell them until an undisclosed date.
EigenLayer explained that it implemented this measure to ensure that key features like payments and slashing parameters were “well established” before allowing EIGEN tokens to be transferred between users.
In its latest blog post, EigenLayer shared more information about EIGEN’s non-transferability, yet it did not reveal when users would be allowed to transfer the tokens.
However, the statement noted that private investors and team members would face a full one-year lock-up once the token became transferable to the general community.
“After that, they will unlock at 4% per month and finish unlocking three years after transferability. This ensures that the users of the protocol get transfer powers well before any core contributors can.”
