Helping friends with easy interpretation series:
I. Project Foundation:
Solayer is based on #solana blockchain's restaking network, building an infinitely scalable, real-time responsive on-chain financial infrastructure designed to significantly improve network scalability and transaction efficiency through hardware acceleration and innovative staking mechanisms. The core focus of the project is to achieve "infinite" scaling of the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM): by offloading blockchain components to programmable hardware to build InfiniSVM, achieving network performance of millions of TPS.
II. Technical Highlights:
InfiniSVM Kernel: The blockchain execution layer is hardware-led and has achieved over 340,000 TPS in internal development online.
Enhanced Security Capabilities: Acquired Fuzzland, integrating its deep technical capabilities in zkVM, security verification, and compilers, focusing on underlying security stacks such as fuzz testing and symbolic execution.
III. A Quick Analysis of Token Economics
Token Information: Solayer's native token is named LAYER.
The total supply is 1 billion tokens.
The initial circulation is approximately 210 million tokens.
LAYER is both the native token of the InfiniSVM network and the governance token of the Solayer protocol suite:
Functional Positioning: The LAYER token runs through the Solayer ecosystem. In the initial stage, it is mainly used for project governance (such as protocol upgrades, ecosystem fund allocation, etc.), and it is planned to be used as a network consensus staking token and transaction gas fee in the future.
Distribution Ratio: Token issuance follows the principle of decentralization, distributed through Emerald Card community sales and initial airdrops. Of the total 1 billion supply, the main distribution is as follows:
Community & Ecosystem: Accounts for 51.23%:
Approximately 34.23% is used for continuous R&D, developer programs, and ecosystem construction.
14% is used for community activities and incentives (including retaining 12% for initial airdrops to early community members).
3% is used for the Emerald Card community sale.
Core Contributors: Account for 17.11%, rewarding the project team and advisors.
Investors: Account for 16.66%, through previous financing rounds.
Solayer Foundation: Accounts for 15%, used to support vertical product expansion and network development.
Genesis Airdrop: Solayer has reserved approximately 12% of the total tokens for early community members and ecosystem contributors for initial airdrops. This includes sSOL/sUSD holders, users who delegate sSOL to AVS partners, users who deposit sSOL/sUSD in cooperative DeFi protocols, and participants in other partner activities.
Airdropped tokens are unlocked immediately upon launch, followed by phased release within 6 months.
IV. Token Usage Scenarios:
Governance: Users holding LAYER can participate in governance votes for the Solayer protocol, including supporting protocol upgrades (such as adding support for new assets), ecosystem fund allocations, and other decision-making project governance advancements rely on the consensus of token holders, thereby achieving community autonomy.
Staking and Consensus: In the future, the Solayer network plans to introduce a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, where holders can use LAYER for staking of validator nodes, participate in network security maintenance, and obtain block rewards. That is, validators will receive LAYER rewards by verifying the transaction proofs of the Solayer network, forming a positive security incentive.
Payment Role and GAS Fee: In the Solayer InfiniSVM network, LAYER will be used as the native GAS token to pay on-chain transaction fees.
As the network ecosystem applications increase, LAYER's circulation will support the execution and settlement of transactions.
Ecosystem Incentives: LAYER is also used for various ecosystem incentive activities, such as community airdrop rewards, developer grants, and partner incentives. The project team encourages more users and developers to invest in the Solayer ecosystem by allocating tokens to early participants and cooperative projects.
V. Sustainability and Incentive Mechanism Analysis of the Token Economic Model:
The tokens of the core team and advisors are released linearly year by year after a 1-year lock-up period.
Investor tokens are released linearly over two years after a 1-year lock-up period.
Community and ecosystem rewards, and foundation tokens are released in equal quarterly installments over 4 years. [The selling pressure on the market mainly comes from this part, which accounts for 51.23% + 15% of the total amount of the foundation, which is released 16 times in 4 years]
This mechanism helps to smooth token supply and maintain market stability. However, there will be a concentrated selling pressure in each quarter of the first 4 years. Starting in January 2026, more investor tokens will enter the market. In terms of incentives, Solayer rewards ecosystem participants through community airdrops, fund support, and staking rewards.
Early supporters directly obtain LAYER through initial airdrops, enhancing community consensus. At the same time, the project continues to invest tokens in R&D, community activities, and ecosystem construction, incentivizing developers and users to contribute. As the Solayer network goes live and operates, validators and participants will receive token rewards for contributing computing power and liquidity, tightly binding their own interests with network security and performance improvement.
Summary and Analysis:
Regarding Layer's token economic model, overall, it is a gradual release quarterly linear expansion model. In the early stages, the quarterly Q1 selling pressure still has a relatively large impact. This is also one of the reasons why there was a larger selling pressure between May 5th and 10th. Part of the reason is that the trend of Layer was very strong in the early stage of release, leading to a large number of contract longs. The expectation of selling pressure led to a large number of longs being forced to liquidate, resulting in approximately $3.2 million in long liquidations, which further exacerbated the decline. This is the double-edged sword of leverage.
It may weaken relatively after Q3 in the first year, and then strengthen again in Q1 after the start of the second year, gradually weakening from Q2. However, it is also very dependent on the market-making techniques of the foundation itself for different projects. The economic model is dead, but people are alive. In the future, it will still depend on the overall operation methods of the team and the market supply and demand balance.
PS: This article is for supporting Plaza friends' learning and popular science communication, not investment advice. Please manage your risks.
