About Solayer (LAYER)

What is Solayer (LAYER) supposed to be, at its core?

Solayer is a restaking protocol built on Solana, letting people restake SOL or LSTs to secure AVSs and earn extra rewards. At the simplest level, it takes Solana’s existing security and lets apps borrow it. Why does that matter? Because the project is trying to stitch restaking, high-speed infra, and real-world payments into one system — a bit messy, but ambitious.

How does the LAYER token actually fit into all of this?

LAYER acts as the protocol’s glue. Governance, funding, AVS participation, even future gas for InfiniSVM — it all routes through the token. Some might say “just another governance coin,” but here it’s wired into delegation flows, blockspace economics, and how sSOL and sUSD tie back into the network. It’s not perfect, but it’s more than decorative.

How is LAYER allocated across the ecosystem?

The token split leans heavily toward long-term building: about a third for R&D and ecosystem growth, then meaningful allocations for Core Contributors, Investors, the Foundation, and two 3% buckets for the airdrop and the Emerald Card sale. It’s not unusual for Solana-native projects, though this one pushes more weight into the ecosystem bucket than most.

When do tokens unlock, and should users worry?

Some parts — Community Incentives and the Emerald Card sale — are already fully unlocked. Everything else drips out over years, not months. Team and investor allocations are still at 0% unlocked, which matters because these are the large buckets. The schedule spreads out releases, but like any vesting plan, it’s something people keep an eye on.

Who actually funded Solayer?

A mix: Polychain led the seed, joined by YZi Labs, Hack VC, BitScale, Big Brain, Maelstrom, and several notable angels including Anatoly Yakovenko, Sandeep Nailwal, Joe Lallouz, and DCF GOD. Then came the IDO at $0.35, raising $10.5M. All rounds together put the project somewhere in the low-20-million-usd range — a respectable, not outrageous, raise.

What community or distribution programs has Solayer run?

The Genesis airdrop covered early users; the Emerald Card sale brought in another dedicated group; and the IDO opened the doors to the broader market. After launch, the team leaned into engagement mechanics — Emerald Rewards, points, ambassador roles — mixing Web3 incentives with IRL spending. Not every project tries this hybrid approach, but Solayer seems committed.

Where is LAYER traded most actively?

Centralized exchanges dominate the liquidity, mainly through usdt-denominated pairs. That’s where most users go because usd-linked stablecoins make the price easier to read. On-chain activity is more about sSOL and ecosystem assets; LAYER trading lives mostly on CEXs, which is fairly normal for a new Solana token.

What’s next for Solayer from a roadmap perspective?

The big idea is InfiniSVM — a hardware-accelerated environment meant to push through staggering throughput numbers. Around it sits years of R&D funding, ecosystem grants, and slow-release token buckets. A slightly scattered roadmap at times, but the general direction is scale: more AVSs, more builders, more real-world utility through sUSD and the Emerald Card.

And the risks — what should users think about?

Restaking adds layers of technical risk, from AVS reliability to contract bugs. Market risk is tied to unlocks and to Solana’s broader cycles. And regulatory pressure around staking and yield-bearing assets doesn’t magically go away. None of this is unique to Solayer, but it’s part of the picture — higher potential yield, higher moving parts.