EigenLayer competitor Symbiotic launches devnet, plans full mainnet in Q3
Quick Take
- Restaking protocol Symbiotic has launched its devnet on the Ethereum Holesky test network ahead of a planned mainnet release later in Q3.
- Symbiotic allows users to deposit assets to secure third-party protocols, competing with EigenLayer.
Restaking protocol Symbiotic’s devnet has gone live on Ethereum's Holesky test network less than two months after coming out of stealth.
Symbiotic allows users to deposit funds to support third-party protocols through a shared security model, positioning itself as a competitor to Ethereum’s first restaking protocol, EigenLayer. It sets itself apart by supporting a variety of ERC-20 tokens beyond just ether and specific derivatives.
The deployment consists of the Symbiotic core contracts, including its vault and collateral system, which allows any asset to be used for restaking to secure third-party protocols, according to a statement shared with The Block.
Symbiotic claims it is the first-ever implementation of slashing in any restaking protocol to enforce honest behavior and penalize misconduct by node operators. Projects including Ethena, LayerZero and Bolt are already exploring the platform, the team noted, which also features a customizable modular design that accommodates any combination of tokens as restaked collateral.
“With this devnet release, we’re providing a feature-complete shared security sandbox environment to our fast-growing ecosystem of network builders,” Symbiotic's Head of Ecosystem Felix Lutsch said. “For the first time, teams can now start to implement and test their slashing logic — a huge unlock towards making many innovative use cases of restaking possible.”
Mainnet release expected later in Q3
Symbiotic said it expected a full mainnet release later in Q3, pending audits from security firms Chainsecurity, Statemind, Certora, Ottersec and Zellic.
In July, the total value locked in Symbiotic deposits surpassed the $1 billion mark in under a month, according to DeFiLlama data. The project is currently in a bootstrapping phase that includes integrating restaked collateral, with depositors accruing rewards for contributing to the security of third-party networks.
Symbiotic officially launched out of stealth on June 11, unveiling its staking protocol and confirming it had raised $5.8 million in funding from Paradigm and cyber.Fund.
Currently, EigenLayer leads the restaking niche by a large margin with a TVL of around $13 billion, according to The Block’s data dashboard.
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