EigenLayer is finally ready to launch a major missing feature

Protocol: EigenLayer ready to launch missing feature

Also: Bitcoin L2 SDK; THORChain's Use in North Korea; and Quantum-Resistant BTC

Margot Nijkerk, Sam Kessler April 9, 2025, 6:13 PM

Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s weekly roundup of the biggest stories in crypto tech. We’re Margot Nijkerk and Sam Kessler, reporters on CoinDesk’s tech team.

In this issue:

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• EigenLayer is finally ready to introduce a critical missing feature
• RootstockLabs Preparing to Release Bitcoin Layer 2 SDK Using BitVMX
• Inside North Korea's Preferred Crypto Laundering Tool: THORChain
• Bitcoin Developer Proposes Hard Fork to Protect BTC from Quantum Computing Threats

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Network news

EIGENLAYER’S KEY FEATURE HAS FINALLY BEEN AVAILABLE: EigenLayer, the restaking protocol, announced last week that it would finally introduce its long-awaited slashing feature on April 17, marking the first “full” version of the protocol. Slashing will allow actively verified services (AVS) — applications built on top of EigenLayer’s restaking system — to penalize operators that fail to meet pre-set conditions and reward those that do. EigenLayer originally pioneered the concept of restaking, allowing Ethereum users to secure additional protocols beyond the base layer by re-staking their Ether. Slashing was intended to be a core element of this system, giving applications a way to punish bad actors by confiscating some of their capital. Since slashing wasn’t part of EigenLayer when it initially launched in 2024, this left room for competitors to take market share. Symbiotic, which allows any asset to be re-collateralized, was used by early adopters of EigenLayer, including Hyperlane, an interoperability framework, and Ethena, a popular synthetic dollar protocol. — Sam Kessler Read more.

BITCOIN LAYER-2S CONSTRUCTION COMING SOON: One of the oldest projects in the Bitcoin ecosystem is moving to the next stage, allowing developers to build second-layer networks using its compute layer. Rootstock is one of many projects currently working to increase Bitcoin’s utility and interoperability using “BitVMX,” a modified version of the BitVM programming language. The RootstockLabs project is weeks away from releasing software development kits (SDKs) that will allow developers to start building their own Bitcoin layers using BitVMX, founder Sergio Lerner told CoinDesk. SDKs are toolkits that allow third-party developers to build applications using a specific platform or framework. “We’re very close to having all the components ready for users to start building their own solutions on top of BitVMX,” Lerner said in an interview. — Jamie Crowley Read more

NORTH KOREA'S PREFERRED TOOL FOR LAUNDERING CRYPTOCURRENCY: In February, North Korea stole $1.4 billion in the largest cryptocurrency heist in history. THORChain, a network used to exchange cryptocurrency, was at the center of North Korea's money laundering operations, having been used to

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