Solayer (LAYER)

Restaking and Network Security

Solayer enhances the Solana blockchain by allowing users to restake their SOL tokens. This restaking strengthens the security and scalability of decentralized applications (dApps) on Solana. It uses a shared validator network to secure multiple dApps beyond the base blockchain, improving transaction prioritization and network efficiency.

Liquid Staking and Token Utility

Solayer offers liquid staking through its sSOL token, which represents staked SOL. This allows users to keep their assets liquid and use them in DeFi activities like lending, collateral, yield farming, and liquidity mining without waiting for unstaking periods. The sSOL token is integrated with various DeFi platforms, increasing its utility.

Hardware-Accelerated Blockchain

Solayer is building InfiniSVM, a hardware-accelerated blockchain that offloads blockchain tasks to programmable chips. This technology targets extremely high throughput (up to 1,000,000 transactions per second) and very low latency, enabling scalable and fast blockchain applications.

Governance and Ecosystem Development

The native LAYER token is used for governance, protocol upgrades, treasury management, and supporting ecosystem initiatives such as grants. This helps the community participate in decision-making and the growth of the Solayer network.

Financial Products and Real-World Integration

Solayer also offers financial products like sUSD, a yield-bearing stablecoin backed by U.S. Treasury Bill yields, and the Emerald Card, which allows users to spend their crypto funds in everyday life. These products bridge traditional finance and decentralized finance.

Summary

Solayer’s use cases include improving Solana’s security and scalability through restaking, enabling liquid staking with sSOL tokens, accelerating blockchain performance with hardware, supporting governance via LAYER tokens, and providing DeFi and real-world financial tools.

Pros

• Solayer is the first and largest restaking protocol on Solana by total value locked (TVL), enabling Solana stakers to access features similar to Ethereum restaking protocols.
• It allows application developers to customize consensus and block space through a shared validator model.
• Solayer enhances Solana’s security and scalability by enabling users to restake SOL and liquid staking tokens (LSTs) across multiple protocols.
• Users receive additional yield opportunities and liquid restaking tokens (sSOL) pegged to SOL.
• The protocol is powered by InfiniSVM, a hardware-accelerated blockchain architecture that offers near-instant execution and can handle up to 1 million transactions per second.
• Solayer supports real-world use cases with products like the Emerald Card, a crypto debit card that allows spending staking rewards directly.
• It has strong backing from major investors like Binance Labs and Polychain Capital.
• The platform offers a user-friendly interface with easy wallet integration and clear visibility into assets and rewards.
• Solayer’s ecosystem includes a US Treasury-backed stablecoin (sUSD) and plans for a high-performance SVM chain.
• The project is growing in market cap and trading volume, reflecting increasing adoption and investor interest.

Cons

• The Solayer token (LAYER) has experienced significant price volatility, including sudden drops after all-time highs.
• The protocol has not yet officially announced a token release or farming campaigns, which may affect user incentives.
• As a relatively new and specialized protocol, it may have limited adoption compared to more established staking platforms.
• The complexity of restaking and multi-layer security models might be challenging for beginners.
• The price of LAYER has shown recent declines, underperforming some other Solana ecosystem tokens.
• Some features, like the Emerald Card, currently support only Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) wallets, with expansion to other networks planned but not yet available.

Founders of Solayer

The founders of Solayer are Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal. They co-founded Solayer in 2024. Both are also known for co-founding Solana, the blockchain platform on which Solayer is built. Additionally, Jason Li is recognized as a co-founder and the Head of Engineering at Solayer Labs, contributing to the project's development and innovation.

Key Investors in Solayer

Solayer has attracted a variety of investors through its funding rounds, including:

• Polychain Capital: Lead investor in the $12 million seed round.
• Big Brain Holdings
• Hack VC
• Nomad Capital
• Race Capital
• ABCDE Capital
• Maelstrom (Arthur Hayes' family office)
• Binance Labs: The venture capital arm of Binance, invested in Solayer as part of its focus on staking and restaking projects.
• Angel Investors: Including Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko and Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal.

In total, Solayer has about 7 to 36 investors involved across different funding rounds, with some sources mentioning 7 institutional investors specifically.

Additional Strategic Investors

• AMEC: A strategic investor providing $10 million in financing, also acting as a distributor for Solayer’s precision optics tools (related to a different Solayer entity focused on hardware).

Summary

Solayer’s investors include well-known venture capital firms like Polychain Capital and Binance Labs, family offices, angel investors who are founders of major blockchain projects, and other venture funds such as Hack VC and Race Capital.

Halal Status of Solayer

• Halal Rating: Solayer has a "Comfortable" halal rating according to Practical Islamic Finance, indicating it is generally considered halal.
• Reasoning: The rating suggests that Solayer's structure and operations comply with Islamic finance principles, avoiding prohibited elements like interest (riba) or gambling (maysir).
• Expert Opinions: Similar to Solana, which is widely regarded as halal by scholars and Islamic finance experts, Solayer is viewed positively due to its technological foundation and use cases.
• Usage: Solayer is a blockchain project with native restaking and DeFi features on Solana, and its compliance is supported by its alignment with Shariah principles in its financial mechanisms.

Answer: Yes, Solayer is considered halal because it meets Islamic finance criteria and has a comfortable halal rating.