Eigen DA

Overview of how Abstract is using Eigen DA

Data Availability (DA)

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What is Data Availability (DA) ?

Data Availability (DA) in blockchain ensures that all the data needed to verify a blockchain's state (such as transaction history, state changes, and smart contracts...) is accessible to everyone in the network. This allows nodes and validators to check that everything is working correctly.

DA plays a critical role in decentralized networks by maintaining transparency, security, and trust. Without it, some data could be withheld, making it impossible to verify transactions and allowing malicious actors to manipulate the system.

By ensuring data is always available, DA helps maintain the integrity and security of the blockchain, preventing potential fraud or tampering with the system.

Example of DA : Rollup using another blockchain for DA (source: https://blog.availproject.org/data-availability-what-is-it/)

What is a Data Availability Layer (DAL) ?

A Data Availability Layer (DAL) ensures that all necessary data required to verify a blockchain’s state is reliably accessible to network participants, even if stored off-chain or across different layers.

By addressing the data availability problem, DAL supports blockchain scalability and security.

This layer is critical for maintaining network efficiency and integrity, ensuring decentralized systems function smoothly without risking security breaches due to missing or inaccessible data.

What is Eigen DA ?

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Thus, Eigen DA is a high-performance DAL for Ethereum made by EigenLabs and built on top of EigenLayer.

EigenDA supports rollups by temporarily storing rollup transactions until their state is finalized on the rollup bridge. It enhances scalability for Ethereum rollups by expanding the block space available to them, significantly lowering the cost of data publication while still maintaining Ethereum's security.

The function of Eigen DA (source: https://x.com/RedactedRes/status/1838261934644433372)

Key differentiators of EigenDA:

Ethereum-Backed Security

Unlike other Layer 1s, EigenDA does not rely on its own token for security. Instead, it leverages Ethereum validators with billions of dollars in restaked ETH, with penalties for malicious behavior enforced through slashing.

Crypto-Economic Capital

EigenDA currently has over 3.6 million $ETH (~$8.5 billion) at stake to secure the platform. This by far exceeds the capital securing other DA solutions. This significant crypto-economic backing makes EigenDA one of the most secure DA solutions in the market.

Scalability

EigenDA achieves linear scalability by separating data availability from execution and consensus, allowing throughput to scale as operator bandwidth increases.

How does Abstract use Eigen DA ?

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Abstract's testnet does not use Eigen DA, currently it just uses Ethereum for DA.

Eigen DA will be used later, especially with mainnet coming out.

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Sources

https://docs.eigenlayer.xyz/eigenda/overview https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/data-availability/ https://x.com/dabit3/status/1838932758103527624 https://x.com/RedactedRes/status/1838261934644433372