Justin Sun, the founder of Tron has offloaded all the 5.374 million EIGEN tokens received from the EigenLayer airdrop. He garnered approximately $21.66 million off of it.
The sale happened shortly after EIGEN token transfers became possible. The token was added to popular platforms such as Binance and HTX (formerly Huobi).
Airdrop of EIGEN Tokens to Justin Sun
Justin Sun was airdropped 5.374 million EIGEN tokens by EigenLayer, the most popular restaking protocol on the Ethereum network. This made SUN the largest single beneficiary of the airdrop that stirred a lot of interest in the cryptomarket.
EIGEN tokens are the native asset of EigenLayer. They are used for the decentralized governance and cooperation of security mechanisms for staked assets.
Following the airdrop, Sun sent the tokens back to the HTX exchange. For context, he is an advisory board member at this platform. According to data from WuBlockchain, it was made via six addresses apparently connected to Sun. After the transfer of the tokens, they were sent straight to Binance.
Justin Sun Sells EIGEN Tokens
On October 2, blockchain researcher EmberCN shared on Twitter that Sun’s team actually cashed out 21.66 million USDT from Binance. This shows that Sun had sold all the 5.374 million EIGEN tokens. He sold them at an average of $ 4.03 per token to get a sale of around $21.66 million.
The sale occurred within a short time after the tokens became tradable. Price climbed to $4.13 and then stabilized at $3.58 at the time of writing.
Sun’s activities have been in focus due to the high returns realized within a short time. He had only got the tokens a day ago and within a few hours of their becoming transferable, they were transferred to HTX and then sold.
EIGEN Token Listing and Market Buzz
EIGEN tokens were made transferable and went live on several exchanges on the 1st of October, 2024 after the second stakedrop of EigenLayer. This event was the distribution of 86 million EIGEN tokens but at first these tokens were not transferable.
The new listings on tier-one exchanges such as Binance and HTX sparked much buzz within the crypto community, driving trading activities and price swings.
EigenLayer has gained attention for its unique staking model, allowing users to stake ether and other Ethereum-equivalent assets to secure third-party networks. At its peak, EigenLayer’s total value locked (TVL) reached $20 billion earlier this year, although it has since dropped to around $12 billion.
Staking Rules and Investor Restrictions
EigenLayer and Eigen Foundation have also released detailed guidelines for staking rewards and investor participation. According to disclosures published on October 2, 2024, investor staking rewards will be capped at 1% of the total initial EIGEN token supply annually.
These rewards will unlock gradually over a three-year period, with weekly claims allowed.
The disclosure emphasized that employees are prohibited from staking EIGEN tokens they received until September 2025. Investors, however, are permitted to stake their tokens but are subject to the same lockup conditions. Additionally, 75% of annual staking rewards will be allocated to Ethereum and ETH-equivalent stakers, with the remaining 25% going to EIGEN stakers.
