TBW - What is the status of the Symbiotic project, EigenLayer's competitor?

Symbiotic is a permissionless restaking protocol designed to enhance the security of decentralised networks by allowing staked assets to be used across multiple blockchains.

But unlike EigenLayer, Symbiotic supports any ERC-20 token for restaking.

The restaking industry: what have we been missing?

The restaking industry is growing by leaps and bounds. In less than a year, the total value locked (TVL) rose from $1.3 billion in January 2024 to more than $29 billion in December, before stabilising at around $11 billion in the first quarter of 2025

In this race to secure decentralised networks, EigenLayer dominates the market with more than 88% share. But one player in the EVM ecosystem intends to challenge its supremacy: Symbiotic (10%).

>> Analysis of the EigenLayer project‍

This permissionless restaking protocol stands out for its innovative, modular approach: where EigenLayer is based mainly on ETH, Symbiotic allows any ERC-20 token to be restacked. This flexibility is attracting more and more projects looking to strengthen their security without relying on a single asset.

Since our last article on the subject, published here, Symbiotic's TVL has risen from $250 million to over $1 billion - a rapid rise that underlines the growing interest in this protocol.

As the restaking market enters a phase of consolidation, let's shine a light on Symbiotic, this newcomer with a differentiating proposition.

>> EigenLayer, Symbiotic: the restaking war has begun

How does Symbiotic work?

Symbiotic's strength lies in its ability to support any ERC-20 token for restaking, whether stETH, ENA, liquidity tokens (LP tokens) or other assets.

This approach brings two key benefits. Firstly, it enables greater capital efficiency: by adopting a multi-asset, network-independent design, Symbiotic offers the possibility of mobilising assets across multiple blockchains and use cases, rather than locking them into a single function.

Secondly, it guarantees greater flexibility for the networks that integrate the protocol. The latter can themselves define the assets accepted as collateral, the selection criteria for validators, or even the reward and penalty mechanisms, depending on their risk profile and specific needs.

To enable this modularity, Symbiotic relies on a slashing mechanism that is independent of the staked assets. Collateral positions are represented by bespoke ERC-20 tokens, enhanced with specific functionalities designed to react to slashing events.

These tokens incorporate a module christened "Burner" - a predefined and rigorously audited smart contract - which is automatically activated in the event of a sanction. The module then irreversibly destroys the tokens concerned, ensuring the integrity of the system while maintaining consistent economic incentives. This approach acts as a firewall against potential contagion effects, while offering finer control over risk management in restaking.

The Essential Roles in Symbiotic

Networks: blockchain systems or decentralised platforms that use Symbiotic to ensure their economic security.

Operators: Professional entities managing validators or nodes, receiving stake allocations to maintain network infrastructure and operations.

Restrainers: Entities (individuals, institutions or protocols) that deposit assets in vaults to generate rewards, managed by curators.

Vault infrastructure and delegation model

Symbiotic offers several configurations to adapt to the needs of the various players in the ecosystem, playing on two variables: the number of networks involved and the number of operators involved.

The Multiple Networks, Multiple Operators (MN, MO) model is aimed primarily at professional entities, such as providers of Liquid Restaking Tokens (LRTs), who manage Symbiotic "vaults" with a view to maximising capital optimisation. These vaults enable a single staking position to be distributed simultaneously across several operators and networks. In some cases, these vaults managed by LRTs do not accept direct deposits: users then place their funds in smart contracts controlled by the LRTs, which are responsible for distributing the assets across different strategies.

The Multiple Networks, Single Operator (MN, SO) model allows each operator to have its own vault, with the possibility of restaking on several networks while remaining independent of the other operators.

In contrast, in the Single Network, Multiple Operators (SN, MO) model, each operator operates on a single network. This format is often used by LST token providers or certain network DAOs, such as Uniswap or Aave, which focus on the governance of a specific blockchain.

Finally, the Single Network, Single Operator (SN, SO) model, the simplest and most isolated, involves a single operator on a single network. It guarantees maximum security but with reduced capital efficiency.

To guarantee the robustness of the whole, Symbiotic's core contracts are non-upgradable, a decision designed to ensure their immutability and reduce the risks associated with external governance. These contracts have also been audited by five independent firms: Zellic, ChainSecurity, OtterSec, Certora and Cantina.

Financing

Symbiotic raised $5.8 million in a single seed funding round, completed in June 2024. This round was led by Paradigm and cyber.Fund, two influential players in the crypto ecosystem.

The participation of cyber.Fund, led by Lido co-founders Konstantin Lomashuk and Vasiliy Shapovalov, strategically places Symbiotic in Lido's orbit. This positioning is far from trivial: it gives Symbiotic the stature of a potential counterweight to EigenLayer, whose model is based almost exclusively on ETH in the restaking world.

Although still in its infancy, the protocol already enjoys the support of investors with powerful relays in DeFi. This financial and relational capital strengthens Symbiotic's legitimacy and consolidates its status as a credible new outsider in a restaking market that is undergoing a complete overhaul.

>> Read also - Restaking: After the euphoria, this vertical is still looking for its model

Team and community

Symbiotic is led by a team with solid skills in blockchain infrastructure and security. The project was co-founded by Misha Putiatin, now CEO, and Algys Ievlev, two technical profiles who previously worked together at MixBytes, a smart contracts auditing firm, before co-founding Statemind, another company specialising in blockchain security.

Misha Putiatin graduated in computer engineering from Moscow's National Electronics Research University (MIET). Before specialising in smart contract auditing, he worked at KPMG in auditing, at VTB Capital in analysis, and then as a director at MixBytes. Algys Ievlev was Chief Technology Officer at MixBytes before co-founding Symbiotic. He comes from the world of software development, with a stint notably at Mail.Ru Group.

On the community side, Symbiotic already federates more than 41,500 subscribers on X (formerly Twitter) and more than 102,000 members on Discord. A committed base for a protocol that is still young, but is already attracting attention well beyond technical circles.

Token

The launch of Symbiotic's token was originally scheduled for Q4 2024 but has been postponed to a later date. The project set up a points system to encourage early restakers, which ran from June 2024 to January 2025, with a Season 2 launched alongside the mainnet.

>> The hidden business of airdrops : Between mirage and reality

Ecosystem and partnerships

Despite delays in launching the token, in just one month after launching its mainnet, Symbiotic has managed to integrate more than 14 networks, including Ditto Network and Capx Cloud.

The protocol has also recruited 23 operators, including industry leaders such as Kiln, P2P.org, and Chorus One. In addition, 55 safes have been deployed on the platform (mETH, sUSDe, ...).

Competition

Let's be clear: Symbiotic is facing a series of major obstacles.

The competition is dominated by one behemoth: EigenLayer, with a TVL of $9.07 billion, is establishing itself as the benchmark restaking protocol. Faced with this, Symbiotic's promise - extended support for ERC-20 tokens - may struggle to win over a user base that is already well entrenched in EigenLayer's ETH-centric ecosystem.

In terms of development, EigenLayer seems to benefit from a much more active ecosystem, with a higher frequency of updates and a larger number of developers involved. That said, both protocols remain actively maintained, as evidenced by their recent commits.

But Symbiotic's technical gamble, based on multi-asset support, is not without risks. This increased complexity opens the door to more potential vulnerabilities, whether in terms of attack surface or slashing risks.

Concerns around centralisation also persist. In its initial phase, the protocol relies on selected vaults and hand-picked operators. An approach that may seem contradictory to the project's decentralised ambition, and raise doubts about its ability to evolve towards a truly open and autonomous model.

Another warning point: the lack of a clear roadmap. For a protocol that intends to play a major role in the DeFi infrastructure, this strategic vagueness could weigh heavily.

Finally, Symbiotic's close association with the founders of Lido could reignite the debate on a possible implicit preference for stETH, to the detriment of fair treatment of other assets.

The question remains: will Symbiotic be able to overcome these challenges and establish itself as a key restaking player?

The Big Whale's analysis: Promising concept, questionable execution

Symbiotic's concept appeals on paper. Its modular architecture and extensive support for ERC-20 assets make it a serious alternative to EigenLayer in the restaking world. But between ambition and execution, a number of red flags remain.

The success of the Season 2 points campaign will be key to attracting significant TVL and establishing itself in the market. Despite remarkable growth in recent months, Symbiotic is still a long way behind EigenLayer's dominance.

The context isn't helping: the momentum around restaking seems to be running out of steam. The sector is slowing down, and EigenLayer, already well established, has a structural advantage that is difficult to make up. In this climate, Symbiotic is facing a steep hill.

The postponement of the launch of its token could also weigh on investor motivation and slow the project's momentum. Combined with a points system that is sometimes perceived as opaque, this decision is fuelling concerns about the transparency of future governance.

Communication challenges, in particular the lack of a clear roadmap, are also complicating the task. In such a technically complex project - with a modular architecture and diverse collateral system - readability is essential to build trust and rally a community.

By banking on a more flexible approach than EigenLayer, Symbiotic could appeal to a wider audience. But this openness also comes with increased complexity and additional risks, where EigenLayer plays the simplicity card and focuses on ETH.

Symbiotic will need to demonstrate innovation, rigorous execution and transparency to turn its promises into reality. Its permissionless model and multi-asset compatibility make it a project with great potential, but still fragile in its positioning. It remains to be seen whether it will be able to capitalise on its specific features to make a lasting impact, or whether it will struggle to emerge in a sector where competition continues to intensify.

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