Since the launch of the Ethereum restaking protocol EigenLayer, negative news related to the token has been continuously reported. This morning, the project posted on social media that a person, possibly an employee, former employee, or early investor, sold approximately $5.5 million worth of EIGEN tokens without approval, violating the token lock-up period. EigenLayer stated on X.
"We are investigating the unauthorized sale activities associated with this wallet, and we will share our findings with the community as soon as possible."
According to data from Arkham Intelligence, the funds in the related wallet came from EigenLayer's multi-signature address. So far, over 1.67 million EIGEN tokens have been sold.
According to the official statement, EigenLayer not only prohibits current and former employees from staking EIGEN tokens obtained from Eigen Labs on EigenLayer before September 30, 2025, but also prohibits the sale of any tokens within a year. The EIGEN tokens were airdropped starting May 10, 2024, which means the wallet under investigation is still within the one-year lock-up period.
According to the official lock-up schedule, starting in September 2025, 4% of EIGEN tokens for each recipient will be unlocked monthly until all tokens for employees and investors are fully unlocked by September 2027.