Eigen Labs to Acquire Rio Network for Restaking Tech

The Eigen Foundation has announced purchasing the intellectual property rights of Rio Network. Consequently, this will enable open-source and integration of Rio’s innovative liquid restaking token (LRT) technology into the EigenLayer ecosystem.

The acquisition occurred in two parallel agreements. First, the valuable LRT technology was acquired by the Eigen Foundation with Intellectual Property rights from Rio Network.

According to the announcement, a skilled team of experts with a combined 75+ years of crypto experience from Rio has also been brought on board by Eigen Labs, the entity behind the leading-edge EigenLayer protocol. Henceforth, this talented crew concentrates on further improvement of EigenLayer.

Proof-of-stake blockchain networks have made staking and re-staking become vital terminologies. Once they hold their crypto coins, validators can secure transactions and earn rewards in exchange for keeping them locked up. Additionally, restaking goes ahead to let these staked assets underlie more than one protocol at a time without leaving their original network through unstaking.

EigenLayer and Rio Network had similar objectives regarding optimizing staked asset utility but differed in methods used. When one has already put stakes on other blockchains like Ether, it is possible to use them as security for another chain using EigenLayer structure.

Meanwhile, Rio provided liquid tokens, representing the user’s stake that could be traded while still earning rewards.

A fitting analogy is that EigenLayer acts as the railway infrastructure enabling the transfer of staked assets, while Rio issues the “tickets” for restaking. With the total value locked in EigenLayer nearing an immense $20 billion, this bold move could kick off a new era of restaking dominance. 

Also Read: MetaMask Introduces Cost-Effective Pooled Staking Feature For Ethereum