Protocol Council Evaluation: ELIP-008, 010, 011

Protocol Council ELIPs
1
Author(s) @matt.nelson on behalf of Protocol Council
Created October 8th, 2025
Proposal ELIP-011
Status Approved

This document is an official communication between the EigenLayer Protocol Council and the community. It aims to provide transparency with the EigenLayer ecosystem regarding upcoming protocol upgrades and network changes.

In this report, we present the outcome and evaluation of the Protocol Council’s review of ELIP-008: Multi-Chain Verification, ELIP-010: Mailbox for Hourglass, a Task-Based AVS Framework, and ELIP-011: Programmatic Incentives v2.

ELIP-008: Multi-Chain Verification

Summary of Feedback

  • General Support:

    All reviewers agree this ELIP is a foundational step enabling cross-chain AVS operations and significantly broadening EigenLayer’s reach and security model.

  • Security Considerations:

    • Sigma Prime: Conducted a full security review of off-chain verification components; all identified issues were addressed. They endorse the proposal as a “major step forward” .

    • Jeff Commons: Notes new complexity and potential centralization risk around the stake table generator/transporter, but emphasizes the path to decentralization and adequate risk mitigations (e.g., pausing controls). There is adequate security work done here, but Jeff notes that there is significant complexity that may add attack surface.

    • Unit 410: Highlights the transporter’s role and suggests future decentralization of that component, aligned with Jeff Commons. Notes minor complexity in APR calculations for multi-chain operators but sees benefits as outweighing these challenges. Additionally, flagged that this proposal may cause issues with rewards APR calculations that should be considered in the implementation of front-end and data APIs.

    • Gonçalo Sá: underscores that the proposal increases interoperability and protocol reach without undermining security guarantees; supports deployment. Notes that edge cases may occur due to the multi-chain nature of any protocol. Gonçalo noted the risk for counterfactual deployment hacks as EigenLayer goes multi-chain with canonical addresses. This is mitigated with a managed multisig deployer leveraging ledger functionality and known addresses alongside multiple signers.

  • Ecosystem Impact:

    • Expected to significantly increase AVS developer flexibility.

    • Shared standards are viewed as risk-reducing compared to ad-hoc cross-chain solutions.

Overall Verdict

Accepted – Strong Consensus Support

All reviewers approve. Security audits completed; decentralization roadmap acknowledged as sufficient. Minor risks noted but managed.

ELIP-010: Mailbox for Hourglass (Task-Based AVS Framework)

Summary of Feedback

  • Purpose and Design:

    Introduces the Mailbox system to standardize task submission, coordination, and verification for task-based AVSs (Hourglass framework).

    • Jeff Commons: Describes this as a “sensible, straightforward, and optional” templated approach that reduces AVS integration complexity without major security implications .

    • Sigma Prime: Security audit in progress; early findings are positive, design deemed robust and likely to expand viable AVS types .

    • Unit 410: Strongly supports; sees Hourglass as central to making EigenLayer “the most attractive platform for verifiable services.” Notes documentation and testnet availability, though mentions the lack of a dedicated forum post for the ELIP (rectified).

    • Gonçalo Sá: Echoes that the standard simplifies AVS design and improves developer experience, aligning with modularity goals. Gonçalo noted a potential griefing vector in the mailbox contract with regards to spamming impossible or DOS-like tasks to the mailbox contract in an effort to stall Operators. The attack vector can be thwarted by proper implementations of the Mailbox contract integrations by AVSs and the Operators ability to chose the AVSs that they want to run themselves.

  • Security & Testing:

    Two months of testnet deployment and audits in progress were considered adequate by reviewers.

    Minimal immediate risk due to its modular “hooks-based” structure.

  • Audit reports

Overall Verdict

Accepted – Broad Support with Audit Finalization

All council members accept the proposal, conditioned on the completion of final audit steps (public as of evaluation completion). Recognized as a major DX (developer experience) improvement and key enabler for AVS growth.

ELIP-011: Programmatic Incentives v2.0

Summary of Feedback

  • Purpose:

    Adjusts parameters in EigenLayer’s incentive mechanism — notably increasing EIGEN staking rewards.

  • Feedback:

    • Jeff Commons: Describes as “exceedingly straightforward” with minimal risk .

    • Sigma Prime: Confirms simplicity and low risk; supports approval .

    • Unit 410: Recused from evaluation .

    • Gonçalo Sá: Notes alignment with long-term incentive design goals; minimal security considerations.

  • Complexity & Risk:

    Minimal, limited to correct parameter application.

Overall Verdict

Approved – with single member abstaining

Simple parameter update; no substantive objections or risks raised.

Additional Notes

  • We believe there is still room to improve our review and evaluation processes to better align with industry best practices. All improvements to Protocol Council processes will be discussed and disclosed on forum.eigenlayer.xyz.
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