Slashing

EigenLayer's restaking mechanism significantly enhances security by raising the costs associated with malicious attacks. It achieves this by consolidating previously fragmented security pools. Instead of these pools operating independently, they converge onto EigenLayer.

This convergence makes the financial cost of mounting an attack far greater than the potential financial gains. To maintain this system, EigenLayer introduces new slashing conditions enforced through smart contracts. These contracts manage the withdrawal credentials for staked ETH when a user chooses to opt in (via EigenPod).

If any malicious activity occurs, the slashing mechanism comes into play, resulting in the staker's inability to withdraw the original principal amount they deposited. Within the current Ethereum design, it is possible to slash up to 50% of the staked ETH. Consequently, when a withdrawal is initiated, at least 50% of the ETH remains accessible. EigenLayer goes further by enabling the slashing of the remaining 50% staked on the protocol.