EigenDA Introduces Base Rewards Program to Enhance Staking Incentives

EigenDA has announced the launch of its Base Rewards Program, designed to reward stakers and operators with monthly ETH distributions. The program is set to commence on August 13, 2024, according to the EigenLayer Blog.

Key Features of the Rewards Program

This initiative follows the recent major upgrade of the EigenLayer Rewards protocol, which went live on mainnet on August 6th. The protocol enables Autonomous Validation Systems (AVSs) to distribute rewards to their stakers and operators. This upgrade empowers AVSs to begin rewarding contributions retroactively, currently, and in the future.

In addition to the protocol upgrade, EigenLayer has proposed a programmatic incentives plan, allocating 4% of EIGEN’s total supply to boost AVS rewards over the next year. The Base Rewards Program by EigenDA aims to leverage these developments to offer a structured reward system for its participants.

Launch Details and Initial Rewards

Starting August 13th, EigenDA will distribute 10 ETH per month to its stakers and operators, with plans to gradually increase this amount over time. Initially, the 10 ETH will be distributed over 28 days, backdated to August 7th and continuing through September 4th, 2024. This monthly cadence will proceed thereafter.

Objectives and Future Plans

The primary goal of the Base Rewards Program is to qualify for the programmatic incentives, ensuring that EigenDA stakers and operators are adequately compensated for their contributions to the network's security and operations. The programmatic incentives will distribute EIGEN tokens proportionally to the rewards paid out by each AVS.

The base reward of 10 ETH per month is intended to set a manageable benchmark for other AVSs, encouraging them to adopt similar incentive models. Over time, the rewards will be increased to cover the monthly operational expenses, estimated at $160,000 across 400 operators, or $400 per operator.

Long-Term Vision

As EigenDA adoption grows, the revenue from projects utilizing EigenDA is expected to exceed the $160,000 monthly operational costs. The majority of this revenue will be distributed to EigenDA stakers and operators through the established rewards mechanism.

With the forthcoming launches of low-latency dispersal, 20MB/s throughput, permissionless rewards, and data availability sampling, EigenDA aims to position itself as the leading solution for scaling Ethereum’s write capacity.

EigenDA's proactive approach in launching the Base Rewards Program sets a precedent for the ecosystem, demonstrating the importance of sustainable rewards models for AVSs.