ConsenSys’ Infura Decentralizes Infrastructure with EigenLayer’s Actively Validated Service (AVS)

Infura, the Ethereum validator node provider from ConsenSys, has announced a major step forward in its Decentralized Infrastructure Network (DIN), revealing plans to launch as an Actively Validated Service (AVS) on the EigenLayer Ethereum restaking platform.

By leveraging Ethereum’s economic security via EigenLayer, Infura aims to enhance the development of its DIN and expand its decentralized Web3 marketplace. “With EigenLayer, we continue to build DIN into a permissionless marketplace for Web3 infrastructure services,” said Tom Hay, Infura DIN’s head of product, during a presentation at Devcon 2024 in Bangkok on November 14.

DIN: A Decentralized Web3 API Marketplace

DIN operates as a decentralized Web3 API marketplace, essentially a decentralized “app store” for blockchain infrastructure. The platform provides developers with new ways to connect to Ethereum and other leading blockchains. Currently, DIN supports a range of networks, including Blast, Mantle, Starknet, ZKsync, BNB Smart Chain, and Scroll.

By launching DIN as an AVS on EigenLayer, Infura expects several key benefits:

• 1. Lower development costs
• 2. Improved accessibility and reliability of Web3 services
• 3. A cooperative environment among service providers
• 4. Easier deployment of new services across Web3 gateways

Scaling with EigenLayer’s Restaking

Sreeram Kannan, founder of EigenLayer, highlighted the importance of this collaboration, noting that building DIN as an EigenLayer AVS “enables permissionless infrastructure provision, scaling the marketplace, and improving both reliability and cost-efficiency.”

An Actively Validated Service (AVS) on EigenLayer is a decentralized service that runs on Ethereum and integrates custom validation mechanisms for off-chain operations. EigenLayer itself is a restaking protocol for Ethereum, allowing users to earn additional rewards by restaking their Ether (ETH), adding layers of security and value to the Ethereum network.

The goal of launching DIN as an AVS is to make Web3 infrastructure more accessible, reliable, and efficient while tapping into Ethereum’s strong economic security. Additionally, the use of EigenLayer's restaking model allows projects to onboard and integrate staking and slashing protection without needing to launch their own tokens prematurely.

EigenLayer’s Explosive Growth

EigenLayer has seen impressive growth in 2024, with the total value locked (TVL) in the restaking protocol soaring by 900% since the beginning of the year, reaching a peak of $13.4 billion, according to DeFiLlama. Although TVL did see a dip after hitting a high of $20 billion in early June, the recent increase in ETH prices has led to a bounce in TVL, signaling continued investor confidence.

This collaboration between Infura and EigenLayer marks a significant step in the ongoing evolution of decentralized infrastructure, combining Ethereum's security with the flexibility and scalability needed to support the growing Web3 ecosystem.