Solayer’s restaking ecosystem on Solana in the way you might be expecting, but I can piece together key details from available sources to give you a clear picture. Solayer is a restaking protocol built natively on the Solana blockchain, designed to enhance network security, scalability, and capital efficiency by allowing users to restake their SOL or liquid staking tokens (LSTs) to secure decentralized applications (dApps) and earn additional rewards. Below, I’ll summarize the core aspects of Solayer’s restaking ecosystem based on recent web sources, focusing on its mechanics, components, and significance within Solana’s ecosystem.
🔴What is Solayer and Its Restaking Ecosystem?
Solayer is a pioneering restaking protocol on Solana, drawing inspiration from Ethereum’s EigenLayer but tailored for Solana’s high-throughput, low-cost architecture. Restaking allows users to reuse their staked SOL or LSTs (like mSOL, JitoSOL, or bSOL) to secure additional services, known as Actively Validated Services (AVSs), such as oracles, bridges, or native Solana dApps. This process enhances Solana’s economic security and provides users with multiple yield streams, including Proof-of-Stake (PoS) rewards, Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) income, and AVS incentives, without requiring them to unstake their assets.
📊Key Components of Solayer’s Ecosystem
Solayer’s restaking framework is built around several core components that make it scalable and user-friendly:
Restaking Pool Manager: This manages the inflow of assets, converting native SOL into sSOL (Solayer’s liquid restaking token) or handling LST deposits. It issues fungible tokens to track user deposits and facilitate reward calculations. The process is streamlined, often completing in a single transaction for efficiency.
Delegation Manager: This component allocates staked assets to validators and AVSs, ensuring balanced distribution to maintain network security. Users can delegate sSOL to specific dApps, like Sonic (a Solana Layer-2 for gaming), to earn additional rewards.
Stake Pool: This manages validator selection and optimizes returns through MEV-boosting, ensuring users get the best possible yields. It also supports Solana’s stake-weighted Quality of Service (swQoS), prioritizing transactions based on stake weight for better performance.
Shared Validator Network (SVN): Solayer’s SVN allows dApps to tap into a decentralized pool of validators, reducing the need for each dApp to set up its own validator infrastructure. This enhances security and scalability while lowering costs for developers.
sSOL and sUSD: sSOL is Solayer’s liquid restaking token, representing staked SOL and remaining usable in DeFi protocols for added liquidity. sUSD is a yield-bearing stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, backed by U.S. Treasury Bills, offering a 4-5% annual yield and usable in restaking for additional returns.
InfiniSVM: Solayer’s hardware-accelerated execution environment, capable of over 1 million transactions per second (TPS) with near-zero latency, leverages technologies like Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) to boost performance for high-demand dApps.
🔵How Restaking Works on Solayer
Restaking on Solayer involves locking SOL or LSTs into smart contracts, which are then delegated to AVSs to secure services beyond Solana’s core validators. Users receive sSOL, which remains liquid for use in DeFi while earning rewards from staking, MEV, and AVS incentives. The process is non-custodial, and Solayer’s architecture ensures no interference with Solana’s Proof-of-History (PoH) consensus, maintaining transaction speed and finality.
Native SOL Restaking: Users deposit SOL, which is converted to sSOL-raw (an intermediary token) and then to sSOL in a single transaction. This sSOL can be delegated to validators or AVSs.
LST Restaking: Solayer supports LSTs like mSOL, JitoSOL, bSOL, and Infinity-SOL, allowing users to restake these tokens for additional yields.
Unstaking: Assets can be unstaked after a cooldown period, with no lockups at the base layer. AVSs may have custom unbonding periods (up to 2 days), and an emergency exit mechanism protects user funds if an AVS fails.
Endogenous vs. Exogenous AVSs
🟠Solayer supports two restaking models:
Endogenous AVSs: These are native Solana dApps (e.g., exchanges, NFT marketplaces) that use SOL stake to enhance security and throughput, improving blockspace allocation and transaction prioritization.
Exogenous AVSs: These are external services (e.g., cross-chain bridges, oracles) that leverage Solana’s PoS security, expanding validator utility across other blockchains.
This dual approach differentiates Solayer from Ethereum’s EigenLayer, which focuses primarily on exogenous AVSs. Solayer’s emphasis on endogenous AVSs aligns with Solana’s integrated blockchain design, prioritizing native dApp performance.
🟡Benefits of Solayer’s Restaking
Higher Yields: Users earn multiple revenue streams (PoS, MEV, AVS rewards), with sSOL offering an 8.12% APY as of September 2024.
Enhanced Security: Restaking distributes stake across multiple services, reducing attack risks and increasing decentralization.
Capital Efficiency: Users can restake without deploying new capital, and sSOL’s liquidity enables further DeFi opportunities.
Scalability: InfiniSVM and SVN support high-throughput dApps, addressing Solana’s congestion issues.
🟢Risks
Smart Contract Vulnerabilities: Bugs in Solayer’s contracts could lead to fund losses.
Validator Penalties: Poor validator performance may result in slashing, impacting user rewards.
Liquidity Risks: sSOL and sUSD value may fluctuate based on market conditions.
Unstaking Delays: A cooldown period (tied to Solana’s epochs) may limit immediate access to funds.
🟣LAYER Token and Funding
Solayer’s native token, LAYER, powers governance, validator incentives, and transaction fees. It saw significant volatility, trading between $0.71-$0.79 as of July 2025, down from highs above $3.50. Solayer raised $12 million in a seed round in August 2024, led by Polychain Capital, with investors like Binance Labs and Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, valuing the protocol at $80 million.
🟤Why Solayer Matters for Solana
Solayer addresses Solana’s blockchain trilemma (security, scalability, decentralization) by enabling dApps to leverage a shared validator network, reducing costs and improving performance. Its sSOL and sUSD tokens enhance liquidity, while InfiniSVM pushes Solana’s throughput to new heights. With a total value locked (TVL) of $331 million (16th among Solana DeFi protocols), Solayer is a key player in Solana’s restaking landscape, competing with protocols like Jito and Picasso.
🟣⚪️🟤Getting Started
To participate:
Visit app.solayer.org, connect a Solana wallet (e.g., Phantom), and deposit SOL or LSTs.
Receive sSOL, which can be delegated to AVSs like Sonic or used in DeFi protocols.
Optionally, convert assets to sUSD for stable yields or use the Emerald Card for real-world spending.
💥🔴🔥Potential Airdrop
While no official airdrop has been confirmed, Solayer’s multi-stage points program rewards early depositors, hinting at potential future token distributions. Depositing over 10 SOL in early phases unlocked permanent invite codes, and native SOL deposits earn higher points.
Conclusion
Solayer’s restaking ecosystem is a game-changer for Solana, offering users enhanced yields and dApps improved security and scalability. By integrating restaking, sSOL, sUSD, and InfiniSVM, Solayer strengthens Solana’s DeFi and infrastructure layers, positioning it as a leader in the restaking space. (@undefined labs).
@Solayer @undefined labs, #BuiltonSolayer $LAYER
