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The long-anticipated trading of Eigenlayer’s EIGEN token 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 received it through airdrops earlier this year. In a statement released through X, the Eigen Foundation highlighted the importance of this milestone: “We’re thrilled to announce the unlocking of the EIGEN token, a big step for the Eigenlayer ecosystem. This opens up new possibilities for open innovation, shared security, and participation across the network.” Related Reading: EigenLayer’s Exclusive $15 Billion Token Launch: Who’s In And Who’s Out? They added that the unlock enables developers to build Actively Validated Services (AVSs) using EIGEN staking, enhancing protocol security and functionality. “The unlock 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 has been mixed on the first day of trading. Lookonchain reported significant purchases by whales, indicating strong interest from large-scale investors. One transaction involved an address purchasing 383,672 EIGEN at $4.05, totaling $1.55 million. Another address spent 1.31 million USDC to acquire 318,651 EIGEN at $4.10. 2 whales bought 702,324 $EIGEN($2.86M) in the past 4 hours! 0x2dcd spent 588 $ETH($1.55M) to buy 383,672 $EIGEN at $4.05.https://t.co/QtcgQQJfSR 0xb112 spent 1.31M $USDC to buy 318,651 $EIGEN at $4.1.https://t.co/qy5SoAuuru pic.twitter.com/Dzt65tYwJT — Lookonchain (@lookonchain) October 1, 2024 Despite these buys, not all activity has been bullish; notable crypto whale GCR was reported to have sold a significant amount of EIGEN shortly after the unlock, depositing over 250,000 EIGEN into Binance. “GCR (@GiganticRebirth) claimed an airdrop of 253,946 EIGEN($1.06M) through 7 wallets and deposited all of it into Binance 40 minutes ago. #GCR“ Lookonchain reports. Crypto analyst Aylo offered a comparison of EIGEN’s market performance relative to other tokens via X: “EIGEN launched exactly in line with the pre-market price, sitting at $7B FDV. A few coins with bigger FDVs than EIGEN currently include OP ($8B), ONDO ($7.9B), UNI ($7.7B), FIL ($7.6),BCH ($7.2B),” he noted, suggesting that EigenLayer’s role in Ethereum’s ecosystem could be a critical factor in its valuation. Related Reading: EigenLayer Founder Reiterates Support For Ethereum, Why Is ETH Struggling? “EigenLayer is the innovation on Ethereum this cycle, and has had more coverage than almost anything else in the EVM in the last year. Really does feel similar to the conditions that TIA launched in. Does the PA play out the same way? No unlocks for a year too…,” Aylo noted. Daan Crypto Trades, another prominent analyst, remarked on the market dynamics: “EIGEN Launched today. I think many market participants will be watching the price action develop to gauge overall market strength and sentiment. So far, price has held up, and even gone up slightly, even though there’s a lot of airdrop participants selling their tokens.” He speculated on the potential for EIGEN’s market valuation to rise, indicating that the current conditions might be more favorable than in recent months. “If the market keeps trending from here I’m assuming EIGEN can go much higher than $7B FDV. Earlier this year it was estimated to launch at $20B+ (in better market conditions). Having said that, I don’t own any right now but I’d definitely be a buyer at $2-3 and I think many would. So not sure if it gets there at all if it doesn’t do so in the first few days of airdrop selling,” Daan concluded. At press time, EIGEN traded at $4.127. Featured image from Coinbase, chart from TradingView.com