EigenLayer’s restaking mechanism, while innovative, poses centralization risks to Ethereum’s consensus layer. By allowing validators to restake ETH across multiple protocols, it concentrates control among large operators, as they benefit from economies of scale and higher yields, potentially marginalizing smaller validators. This could lead to a few dominant nodes controlling significant staked ETH, increasing systemic vulnerabilities. A major slashing event in an Actively Validated Service (AVS) could cascade, destabilizing Ethereum’s security if a large portion of ETH is restaked. Additionally, redirecting withdrawal credentials to EigenLayer raises concerns about protocol-level control, risking single points of failure. To mitigate, EigenLayer employs strategies like computationally light AVSs and delegation features, but careful governance and slashing management are critical to preserving Ethereum’s decentralization.