Solayer is a restaking protocol on Solana that boosts performance and security for decentralized applications (dApps). It lets you to stake SOL or Liquid Staked SOL (sSOL) to support dApps while earning rewards.
What is Solayer
Here’s how it works:
- Restaking Pool Manager: This tool manages SOL deposits and converts them into Solayer tokens. These tokens are then used for staking, allowing you to earn rewards. The system ensures liquidity, speeds up transactions, and reduces slippage.
- Stake-weighted Quality of Service (swQoS): The protocol allocates network resources based on how much stake validators hold. This helps dApps get faster transactions and better access to block space. The more stake a dApp has, the smoother its operations.
- Actively Validated Services (AVSs): AVSs let dApps delegate their stake to top-performing validators. They can also unbond (withdraw) their stake easily, making it more efficient to manage resources and performance.
- Partnerships with Kamino and Orca: By using Kamino or Orca, Solayer users can earn extra rewards. You can provide liquidity or use automated vaults to manage your staked assets more efficiently.
In summary, Solayer makes it easy to stake SOL, secure resources for Solana dApps, and earn rewards while maintaining liquidity.
Team of Solayer
Jason Li
Co-founder
Jason Li is a co-founder and engineer at Solayer Labs, specializing in scaling decentralized systems and blockchain infrastructure. With a strong background in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley, he has previously co-founded MPCVault and LoopChat, contributing to innovations in Web3 wallets and high-throughput messaging systems.
Solayer review
Pros
Better security and faster transactions through restaking
By letting you restake your SOL or liquid-staked SOL (sSOL), Solayer helps boost both security and performance for the network. Apps (dApps) that use Solayer can allocate more resources based on how much is staked, which means they get stronger security and faster transaction times. This ensures smoother operations for the apps you use.
Flexible options for managing your stake
Solayer lets you to delegate your staked tokens to various node operators. You can pick different options depending on the risk and rewards you prefer, giving you control over how your assets work for you. Plus, since there are no unbonding periods at the base layer, you can manage your staked tokens with ease and flexibility.
Improved liquidity for easier trading
Solayer improves liquidity through the sSOL-SOL pairing, which helps keep the prices stable when you trade tokens. This reduces slippage, meaning the price you see when trading is closer to what you expect.
Priority access to resources for those with higher stakes
With Solayer's stake-weighted Quality of Service (swQoS) feature, dApps and validators that stake more get better access to block space and faster transaction processing. This means that apps with higher stakes perform better and can handle more activity, ensuring you get the best experience when using them.
Extra earning opportunities through DeFi
Solayer integrates with DeFi platforms like Kamino and Orca, which lets you earn more by providing liquidity or taking part in other strategies. This means that beyond just staking, you can explore other ways to boost your returns, giving you more potential to earn with the same assets.
Cons
Initial lack of liquidity for assets
At first, the assets on Solayer might be less liquid, meaning it could be harder to trade or move them around freely. This is done to help calculate rewards accurately, but it could feel limiting if you want quick access to your assets in the early stages. However, future updates plan to improve liquidity.
Tied to Solana’s performance: Solayer’s success depends on Solana’s network. If Solana experiences technical problems or downtime, it could directly affect how well Solayer works. This could lead to delays in staking, trading, or using dApps.
Risk of centralization due to high stakes
Solayer’s system rewards validators with larger stakes by giving them more network resources, leading to a few validators controlling a lot of the power. This concentration of resources might reduce the decentralized nature of the network, giving more control to those who already have large amounts staked.
Limited control over where your stake goes
While you can delegate your stake to node operators, you don’t have full control over which validators receive your stake initially. Solayer promises more detailed control in the future, but right now, this limitation might make you feel like your choices are somewhat restricted.