Kaushik Chowdhury

I often get asked about the difference between Lagrange and EigenLayer—it's a common point of confusion. From my perspective, they might seem similar because they're both working on new infrastructure for blockchains, but I see them as serving completely different purposes. Let me explain how I understand them.
What I See When I Look at EigenLayer
When I look at EigenLayer, I see a brilliant security marketplace. It introduces this concept of restaking, which I think is a game-changer. Imagine I’ve staked my ETH or hold a liquid staking token. With EigenLayer, I can "re-use" that staked collateral to help secure other new networks and services.
These services, which they call Actively Validated Services, or AVSs, can be anything from data layers to ZK coprocessors and more. They can simply plug into EigenLayer and immediately inherit the robust economic security of Ethereum. This is a huge win for them because they don't have to go through the painful process of bootstrapping their own validator set.
Essentially, I think of EigenLayer as providing a kind of "security-as-a-service." It’s a foundational layer that coordinates decentralized infrastructure and makes the entire ecosystem more secure.
How I Understand Lagrange
Then there's Lagrange. For me, Lagrange's goal is all about verifiable computation and making cross-chain data access efficient and secure. It's a ZK coprocessor and a state proof network.
I see it as having two key functions. First, it's a ZK coprocessor that can handle heavy-duty data queries—think SQL-style operations—over huge on-chain datasets. It then generates zero-knowledge proofs to guarantee those results are correct. This is powerful stuff.
Second, it has these specialized groups of operators called State Committees. Their job is to provide fast state attestations and light-client proofs for rollups. This helps me, as a developer, bypass those frustratingly long finality delays, like the seven-day withdrawal periods on optimistic rollups.
So, in my mind, Lagrange is a specialist. It focuses on verifiable computation and state access across different blockchains, allowing me to embed proofs of computation directly into my smart contracts.
The Overlap, from My Perspective
I can see why people get them mixed up. They both provide infrastructure for other blockchains. But I view their roles very differently.
EigenLayer provides the security foundation. It’s the platform.
Lagrange builds services that could run on that platform. It’s one of the applications.
In fact, I believe that Lagrange can even leverage EigenLayer to make itself stronger. By registering its State Committees as an AVS, Lagrange can tap into Ethereum's restaked collateral. This ensures that its proofs and attestations are backed by the most robust crypto-economic guarantees available. It's a perfect example of two specialized layers working together.
How I See Their Relationship
I don't see them as competitors at all; I see them as complementary. EigenLayer makes it easier to launch new infrastructure by offering a ready-made security layer. Lagrange, in turn, creates a specific type of infrastructure service that benefits from that very security.
I like to use an analogy to help people understand: I think of EigenLayer as the power grid—it's the marketplace for decentralized security that provides the raw power. And I see Lagrange as an appliance—a ZK-powered machine that plugs into that grid to operate more efficiently and reliably.
In the end, while their names are often mentioned together, their core functions and architectures are distinct. EigenLayer secures the next wave of decentralized services, and Lagrange makes computation and data verifiable across chains. Together, they demonstrate a key principle of modular blockchains: specialized layers handling different responsibilities, but all linked together to create a more scalable, secure, and composable ecosystem.
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