Deep Dive
1. ELIP-12 Incentives Proposal (December 2025)
Overview: This governance proposal seeks to create a committee that directs EIGEN token emissions more efficiently. It shifts incentives toward services that actively secure the network and generate real usage fees, which can then be used for token buybacks.
The proposal introduces a 20% fee on AVS rewards that are subsidized by EIGEN incentives. Only fee-paying AVSs remain eligible for future incentives, and all EigenCloud fees (after operator costs) are routed to a dedicated contract. This creates a direct economic link between network utility and token value.
What this means: This is bullish for EIGEN because it aims to make the token more valuable by tying rewards to actual network usage and creating a potential buyback mechanism. It encourages participants to provide useful services rather than just staking idly, which could lead to a healthier, more sustainable ecosystem.
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2. Multi-Chain Verification Launch (July 2025)
Overview: This major technical update allowed EigenLayer's Actively Validated Services (AVSs) to deploy and operate on networks beyond Ethereum mainnet, starting with Base. It was released as a public preview on the Base Sepolia testnet.
Previously, AVSs were confined to Ethereum, facing scalability limits due to high fees and slower speeds. This upgrade lets developers deploy services on Layer 2 chains with minimal smart contract changes, significantly improving potential scale and reducing costs for applications.
What this means: This is bullish for EigenCloud because it dramatically expands the platform's reach and utility. Developers can build faster, cheaper applications, which could attract more projects and increase the overall usage and security demand for the EIGEN token.
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Overview: This foundational update marked the shift from EigenLayer as a restaking protocol to EigenCloud, a comprehensive developer platform. It integrated the data layer (EigenDA), dispute resolution (EigenVerify), and off-chain execution (EigenCompute) into a single suite.
The launch was backed by a $70 million investment from a16z crypto to accelerate development. The platform's goal is to provide "verifiability-as-a-service," allowing developers to build applications with crypto-economic security that were previously impossible on-chain.
What this means: This was a neutral-to-bullish foundational shift for EIGEN. It transformed the project's identity from a single-protocol infrastructure to a broader, programmable cloud ecosystem, setting the stage for all future updates and expanding its potential market and use cases.
Conclusion
EigenCloud's trajectory shows a clear evolution from a restaking protocol to a programmable "verifiable cloud," with recent updates sharpening its economic incentives and multi-chain capabilities. The focus is now on fostering real usage and value accrual for EIGEN. Will the new incentives model successfully catalyze the fee-generating ecosystem it's designed to create?