Eigenlayer’s long-awaited EIGEN token trading began today, following the lifting of transfer restrictions that had been in place since the token’s launch in May. Major cryptocurrency exchanges including Binance, Kraken, Coinbase, ByBit and OKX have listed EIGEN, providing liquidity to holders of the token, many of whom have received it through airdrops earlier this year.
In a declaration launched through X, the Eigen Foundation highlighted the importance of this milestone: “We are excited to announce the unlocking of the EIGEN token, a huge step forward for the Eigenlayer ecosystem. This opens up new possibilities for open innovation, shared security and participation across the network.”
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They added that unlocking allows developers to create Actively Validated Services (AVSs) using EIGEN staking, improving the security and functionality of the protocol. “The unlocking of EIGEN marks the beginning of broader engagement. It acts as a catalyst for economic expansion, governance and protocol development, driving growth and strengthening the decentralized ecosystem,” the Eigen Foundation added.
Buy or sell Eigenlayer (EIGEN)?
Market sentiment was mixed on the first day of trading. Lookonchain reported significant purchases by whales, indicating strong interest from large-scale investors. One transaction involved the purchase of 383,672 EIGEN by one address for $4.05, totaling $1.55 million. Another address spent 1.31 million USDC to purchase 318,651 EIGEN for $4.10.
2 whales bought 702,324 $EIGEN($2.86 million) in the last 4 hours!
0x2dcd spent 588 $ETH($1.55 million) to buy 383,672 $EIGEN for $4.05.https://t.co/QtcgQQJfSR
0xb112 spent 1.31 million $USDC to buy 318,651 $EIGEN for US$4.1.https://t.co/qy5SoAuuru pic.twitter.com/Dzt65tYwJT
– Lookonchain (@lookonchain) October 1, 2024
Despite these purchases, not all activity was optimistic; It was reported that notable crypto whale GCR sold a significant amount of EIGEN shortly after unlocking, depositing over 250,000 EIGEN on Binance. “GCR (@GiganticRebirth) claimed an airdrop of 253,946 EIGEN ($1.06 million) via 7 wallets and deposited it all to Binance 40 minutes ago. #GCR “Lookonchain reports.
Aylo Crypto Analyst offered a comparison of EIGEN’s market performance against other tokens via X: “EIGEN launched exactly in line with the pre-market price, costing $7 billion FDV. Some coins with FDVs higher than EIGEN currently include OP ($8 billion), ONDO ($7.9 billion), UNI ($7.7 billion), FIL ($7.6), BCH ($7.2 billion ),” he noted, suggesting EigenLayer’s role in the Ethereum ecosystem. can be a critical factor in your assessment.
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“EigenLayer is the innovation on Ethereum this cycle and has had more coverage than almost anything else on EVM over the past year. It really seems similar to the conditions that AUNT released. Does PA work the same way? No unlocking for a year either…” Aylo noted.
Daan Crypto Trades, another prominent analyst, commented on market dynamics: “EIGEN launched today. I believe many market participants will watch the development of price action to gauge overall market strength and sentiment. So far, the price has maintained and even increased slightly, although there are many airdrop participants selling their tokens.”
He speculated on the potential for EIGEN’s market valuation to increase, indicating that the current conditions may be more favorable than in recent months. “If the market trend continues from here, I expect EIGEN could go well beyond the $7 billion FDV. At the beginning of this year, its launch was estimated to cost more than US$20 billion (under better market conditions). That being said, I don’t currently own any, but I would definitely be a buyer for $2-3 and I think many would. So I’m not sure it will get there if it doesn’t get there in the first few days of air sales,” concluded Daan.
At press time, EIGEN traded at $4,127.
Featured image from Coinbase, chart from TradingView.com
