Renzo Protocol
Summary
Renzo Protocol is an EigenLayer liquid restaking protocol that issues ezETH, a liquid restaking token (LRT) representing restaked ETH. In April 2024, ezETH suffered a severe depeg — falling from ~$3,100 to as low as $688 on Uniswap — triggered by a controversial REZ tokenomics announcement that allocated only 5% of tokens to the community airdrop while reserving over 60% for team, investors, and advisors, causing cascading liquidations exceeding $56 million across DeFi platforms. Eight high-severity vulnerabilities were identified in a concurrent Code4rena security audit, and the incident exposed structural risks including withdrawal restrictions that prevented users from redeeming ezETH directly for ETH.
Connected Entities
1 entitiesTimeline(10 events)
2023-01
Renzo Protocol founded by Lucas Kozinski, James Poole, and Kratik Lodha as an EigenLayer liquid restaking protocol.
IQ.wiki / Protagonist X2024-04-23
Renzo publishes REZ tokenomics announcement disclosing 5% community airdrop allocation, 2.5% to Binance Launchpool. A reportedly not-to-scale pie chart obscures that over 60% of REZ goes to team, investors, and advisors. Community backlash begins immediately.
The Block2024-04-24
ezETH depegs sharply. Price falls from approximately $3,100 to a low of $688 on Uniswap — a 79% drop in under one hour. Cascading liquidations begin across Gearbox and Morpho protocols.
DL News / CoinDesk / Protos2024-04-24
Gearbox Protocol liquidates 115 Credit Accounts totaling approximately 10,650 ezETH (~$33 million). Morpho Protocol liquidates 146 users for approximately $23 million. Combined losses exceed $56 million across 250+ users.
DL News / Protos / CryptoSlate2024-04-28
Renzo increases Season 1 airdrop allocation from 5% to 7% following community outrage. Team also adjusts airdrop claim date to April 30, one hour before Binance listing.
The Block / crypto.news2024-04-30
REZ token launches on Binance. Binance Launchpool participants, who staked BNB or FDUSD from April 24–29, are able to sell REZ before Renzo Protocol's own Season 1 depositors can claim.
Binance / The Block2024-04-30
Code4rena competitive audit of Renzo Protocol begins (runs through May 8, 2024). Audit identifies 8 high-severity and 14 medium-severity vulnerabilities.
Code4rena2024-07-22
Renzo Protocol's official Discord server is compromised by scammers posting phishing links promising rewards.
CryptoTimes2025-11-05
Renzo executes first REZ token buyback-and-burn, destroying over 114 million tokens. Monthly burns confirmed as ongoing program.
Renzo Governance Forum2026-04
Founder Lucas Kozinski publishes 'Yield Orchestration Layer' vision for institutional capital deployment. Protocol TVL approximately $217 million, down significantly from $3B+ peak.
CoinMarketCap AI / CryptoJournaal XDecision Log
- hash: 3FVW7fXFvroMjaZUNQ53UCYvzEEP46zQPn7ejtyG4LKY
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/4/2026, 4:05:05 PM
last updated: 5/26/2026, 4:11:17 AM
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