Ethereum edges near $4000 as EigenLayer becomes second-largest DeFi protocol
![Ethereum Edges Near $4000 As Eigenlayer Becomes Second Largest Defi Protocol](https://dailyblockchain.news/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Ethereum-edges-near-4000-as-EigenLayer-becomes-second-largest-DeFi-protocol-780x470.jpg)
Ethereum, the second-largest digital asset by market capitalization, is buying and selling near the pivotal $4000 milestone for the primary time since December 2021, up 15% in the course of the previous week.
Amid this worth rally, main restaking protocol EigenLayer is now the second-largest DeFi protocol by way of complete worth locked, in keeping with DeFillama data.
ETH’s worth
Ethereum is at present priced at $3954 following a 4% achieve in the course of the previous day, in keeping with CryptoSlate’s knowledge.
This upward motion in Ethereum’s worth could be linked to the thrill surrounding the upcoming Dencun improve scheduled to go reside on the mainnet by Mar. 13. Dencun brings proto-danksharding to Ethereum, a strategic transfer geared toward reducing transaction bills for layer-2 blockchains, thus tackling scalability issues head-on.
Furthermore, the market is anticipating the potential approval of a spot ETH ETF by the US SEC. Ought to this approval materialize, it might serve as a major catalyst propelling the continued worth surge even additional.
EigenLayer’s hovering TVL
EigenLayer’s TVL soared to an all-time peak of $11.7 billion in the course of the week, surpassing Aave’s TVL of $11.4 billion.
Notably, on Mar. 5, the protocol witnessed a staggering $790 million constructive change in TVL, marking its highest each day surge since Feb. 9, in keeping with blockchain analytical agency IntoTheBlock.
The expansion trajectory of EigenLayer’s TVL has been exceptional, particularly previously 30 days, witnessing a five-fold surge from roughly $2 billion at the beginning of the earlier month to its present determine. Impressively, the full belongings locked on the protocol have skyrocketed to greater than 3 million ETH, up from below 1 million in early February.
![Eigenlayer](https://cryptoslate.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-08-102327.jpg)
![Eigenlayer](https://cryptoslate.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-08-102327.jpg)
This surge in TVL carefully follows EigenLayer’s choice to elevate token restaking restrictions and remove TVL caps for particular person tokens final month. Group members anticipate these modifications to change into everlasting someday later this yr.
In the meantime, EigenLayer’s distinctive restaking mannequin attracted important investments, notably a $50 million Sequence A funding spherical in March 2023 led by Blockchain Capital and a $100 million investment from Andreessen Horowitz in February 2024.
Nevertheless, EigenLayer’s speedy development has prompted heightened safety scrutiny, prompting the mission to supply rewards of as much as $100,000 to researchers uncovering the platform’s medium or larger severity safety points.