tl;dr
EigenLayer, an Ethereum restaking protocol with over $12.2 billion TVL, saw its parent company Eigen Labs significantly reduce staff to focus on developing EigenCloud, the world’s first verifiable cloud platform. Employees affected by layoffs receive supportive severance packages and career assistan...
EigenLayer, a prominent Ethereum restaking protocol boasting over $12.2 billion in Total Value Locked (TVL), recently faced a significant shift as its parent company, Eigen Labs, decided to reduce its workforce considerably. This move, though tough, came with a supportive severance package and was driven not by financial constraints but by a strategic pivot to focus on building the world’s first verifiable cloud platform, as explained by CEO Sreeram Kannan.
The affected employees will receive continued support from Eigen Labs, including healthcare benefits, accelerated vesting, career assistance, and three months of base pay. The crypto community has also rallied, with leaders and companies offering new opportunities for those impacted by the layoffs.
This restructuring follows a substantial $70 million investment from Andreessen Horowitz’s blockchain division, a16z, aimed at advancing the recently launched EigenCloud. EigenCloud, built atop the EigenLayer restaking framework, integrates data availability (EigenData), general computing (EigenCompute), and dispute resolution (EigenVerify) into one platform, allowing developers to verify on-chain and off-chain activities with strong security assurances.
EigenLayer’s economic model benefits directly from this capital infusion, as EigenCloud introduces new fee mechanisms supporting staking, backed by a prior $100 million funding round from the same venture capital firm earlier in the year.
This layoff at Eigen Labs mirrors a larger trend in the crypto industry during 2025, where multiple firms, including Kraken and Messari, have scaled back or refocused their operations. These adjustments reflect the sector’s ongoing efforts to streamline and adapt amid evolving market conditions, emphasizing efficiency and innovation.