Solayer is a Solana-native protocol that lets users stake SOL and USDC to earn yield, originally built as Solana's first restaking platform. It has since expanded into InfiniSVM, a hardware-accelerated blockchain, alongside products like the sSOL liquid staking token, the sUSD yield-bearing stablecoin, and the Emerald Card.

sSOL is Solayer's liquid staking token. When you deposit SOL (or supported liquid staking tokens) into Solayer, you receive sSOL in return, which represents your staked position and accrues staking, MEV, and AVS rewards over time while remaining usable across DeFi.

sUSD is Solayer's yield-bearing stablecoin, backed by short-duration U.S. Treasury bill exposure. Depositing USDC mints sUSD, which is designed to auto-accrue yield while staying pegged to the dollar and usable for payments and DeFi.

InfiniSVM is Solayer's hardware-accelerated blockchain architecture, built on the Solana Virtual Machine. It combines a multi-execution cluster design with Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and RDMA (Remote Direct Memory Access) networking to target extremely high throughput while keeping a single, atomic global state.

InfiniSVM is designed to target over 1,000,000 transactions per second and 100+ Gbps of network bandwidth, with sub-second finality. Actual throughput depends on network stage (devnet/mainnet) and continues to scale as the infrastructure matures.

LAYER is Solayer's native governance and utility token. It is used for protocol governance, participation in Actively Validated Services (AVS), and is designed to serve as a gas and staking token for InfiniSVM as the network matures.

Restaking lets you take SOL you've already staked (or a liquid staking token representing it) and use it again to help secure additional on-chain applications and services, called Actively Validated Services (AVS), earning extra rewards on top of base staking yield.

AVS stands for Actively Validated Services — on-chain applications and infrastructure that rely on restaked SOL for extra security or performance guarantees. Users who restake through Solayer can earn additional rewards for helping secure these services.

MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) rewards come from optimized transaction ordering and block production. Solayer runs its own high-performance validator infrastructure, and a share of the MEV it captures is passed on to stakers as extra yield.

Solayer states that security is a top priority and highlights institutional backing and audits as part of its trust framework. As with any DeFi protocol, you should always review current audit reports and documentation before depositing funds.

Solayer is developed by Solayer Labs, with an associated non-profit Solayer Foundation that oversees governance token distribution and ecosystem funding, including a dedicated fund to support projects building on InfiniSVM.

The Solayer Pay Card (also referred to as the Emerald Card) is a Visa-enabled card that lets users spend crypto assets in everyday purchases, bridging Solayer's on-chain yield products with real-world payments.

Yes. You'll need a Solana-compatible wallet (such as Phantom, Solflare, Backpack, or OKX Wallet) to connect to the Solayer app, sign transactions, and manage your staked assets.

Solayer supports major Solana wallets including Phantom, Solflare, Backpack, Bitget Wallet, Bybit Wallet, OKX Wallet, Ledger (hardware wallet), Nightly, SquadsX, and WalletConnect-compatible wallets.

Solayer's TVL fluctuates with market conditions and combines both sSOL (SOL staking) and sUSD (stablecoin deposits). You can check the live, up-to-date TVL breakdown directly at the top of the Solayer app.

Solayer supports unstaking through its app interface. Native SOL unstaking follows Solana's standard deactivation/epoch process, which can take some time, while liquid tokens like sSOL can often be used or swapped in DeFi in the meantime.

Pending transactions represent stake or unstake actions that are still being processed on-chain — for example, stake accounts that are deactivating and waiting for a Solana epoch to complete before funds become available.

Yes. In addition to native SOL, Solayer supports select liquid staking tokens such as BNSOL (Binance Staked SOL), letting holders of those tokens restake through Solayer's markets.

Solayer Explorer is a block explorer for the Solayer/InfiniSVM chain, letting users track transactions, blocks, and network activity in a way similar to standard Solana explorers.

Solayer supports both: SOL staking (which mints sSOL) and USDC deposits (which mint sUSD), giving users exposure to either Solana staking yield or Treasury-backed stablecoin yield within the same platform.

Staking SOL means delegating your tokens to a validator that participates in Solana's Proof-of-Stake consensus. In return, you earn a share of the network's staking rewards, which are paid out as new SOL over time.

Staking lets SOL holders earn passive yield while helping secure the network. It's generally considered lower-risk than active trading, since staked SOL keeps earning rewards regardless of short-term price movements.

Liquid staking lets you stake SOL while receiving a tradable "liquid staking token" (LST) like sSOL in return. Unlike native staking, this token can still be used in DeFi — for lending, trading, or providing liquidity — while your underlying SOL keeps earning staking rewards.

Native staking locks your SOL directly with a validator through a stake account, with funds becoming illiquid until you deactivate the stake. Liquid staking issues you a token representing your stake, which stays liquid and usable elsewhere in DeFi.

Solana staking APY is influenced by the network's inflation rate, total amount of SOL staked, validator commission, and any additional yield sources like MEV or protocol-level incentives layered on top by platforms such as Solayer.

Staking SOL through a reputable validator carries low technical risk, since your tokens are delegated rather than transferred away. That said, smart contract risk exists when using liquid staking or restaking protocols, so it's important to use audited platforms and understand slashing or protocol-specific risks.

Solana's base protocol does not currently implement validator slashing the way some other Proof-of-Stake networks do, though validator downtime can reduce your rewards. Restaking protocols that secure additional services may introduce their own risk parameters, so it's worth reviewing documentation before restaking.

Unstaking (deactivating) native SOL typically takes up to one Solana epoch, which is roughly 2–3 days, before funds become fully liquid and withdrawable.

An epoch is Solana's basic unit of time for consensus and reward distribution, made up of a fixed number of slots and lasting roughly two to three days. Staking rewards and stake activation/deactivation are processed at epoch boundaries.

A validator is a node operator that processes transactions and participates in consensus on the Solana network. Validators with better uptime, hardware, and performance tend to produce more blocks and generate more rewards for the SOL delegated to them.

MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) refers to the extra value a validator can capture by strategically ordering, including, or excluding transactions within a block — for example, through arbitrage or liquidations. Some staking platforms share a portion of MEV revenue with stakers.

There is no strict network-wide minimum for delegating SOL to a validator, though individual staking platforms or wallets may set their own minimum deposit amounts for convenience or gas-efficiency reasons.

Yes — that's the main advantage of liquid staking tokens. Tokens like sSOL can typically be used as collateral for lending, swapped on decentralized exchanges, or added to liquidity pools while still accruing underlying staking rewards.

Staking secures the base blockchain (Solana) and earns base network rewards. Restaking takes that same staked capital (or a token representing it) and uses it again to help secure additional applications or services, earning extra yield on top of base staking rewards.

In many jurisdictions, staking rewards are considered taxable income when received and may also trigger capital gains tax when later sold. Tax treatment varies by country, so it's best to consult a qualified tax professional about your specific situation.

All of these are liquid staking tokens representing staked SOL, but they differ in which validators they delegate to, their fee structures, and any additional yield strategies (like MEV capture or restaking) layered on top of base staking rewards.

Look at factors like validator uptime and performance history, commission fees, total stake concentration (to support network decentralization), audit history for any smart contracts involved, and transparency of the yield sources being offered.

With native staking, rewards typically compound automatically into your stake account balance. With liquid staking tokens like sSOL, rewards are usually reflected through an increasing exchange rate between the LST and the underlying SOL, rather than a growing token balance.

Solana staking offers fast epochs, low transaction fees, and a mature liquid staking ecosystem. Whether it's "better" than staking on another network depends on your priorities — such as yield, ecosystem maturity, decentralization, and the specific platform's track record.

You can connect a supported Solana wallet directly in the Solayer app, choose to stake SOL (to mint sSOL) or deposit USDC (to mint sUSD), and confirm the transaction to start earning yield immediately.