Eigenlayer sees surge in whale transactions and new wallets as smart money positions early

EigenLayer has been the undisputed heavyweight of Ethereum’s restaking market, controlling roughly 94% of the space at one point and peaking above $15B in total value locked. The Eigen Foundation unlocked EIGEN token transferability on June 21, 2026, which opened the door for large-holder movements that can now be tracked more transparently on-chain. What followed was a spike in whale transactions and new wallet creation, though the token price has not followed suit. The numbers behind the accumulation In the week leading up to mid-July, EIGEN tokens posted double-digit rebounds. Open interest in derivatives climbed by 27%, a signal that leveraged traders are placing bets on directional moves. The current TVL tells a more complicated story. It has dropped substantially to around $4.72B, a far cry from the $15B peak. Why the smart money is showing up now Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm, a16z, invested an additional $70M into EIGEN tokens in June 2025. That came on top of a $100M commitment during EigenLayer’s Series B funding round. EigenLayer has evolved beyond its original pitch as a restaking protocol, now positioning itself as a layer for verifiable computing. The EigenCloud pl...