The short answerSolayer brought restaking to Solana and attracted substantial deposits quickly, with fees below the Ethereum incumbents and integration across major Solana infrastructure. The underlying slashing primitives on Solana are younger than Ethereum's, which were themselves new.
Best forRestaking on Solana
Added slashing riskweight 25%
6.0avg 6.6
Contract securityweight 20%
6.5avg 7.0
Exit liquidityweight 20%
6.0avg 6.0
Operator transparencyweight 20%
6.5avg 7.1
Feesweight 15%
8.0avg 7.8
this service category average across 15Score = Σ mark × weight. Usable, but there are better options for most people. Methodology.
| Criterion | Mark | What we found | Source | Checked |
|---|
| Added slashing risk | 6.0 | not sourced yet | not sourced yet | — |
| Contract security | 6.5 | not sourced yet | not sourced yet | — |
| Exit liquidity | 6.0 | not sourced yet | not sourced yet | — |
| Operator transparency | 6.5 | not sourced yet | not sourced yet | — |
| Fees | 8.0 | not sourced yet | not sourced yet | — |
What we liked, and what fell short
Liked- First mover in Solana restaking with real deposits
- Lower fees than the Ethereum incumbents
- Integrated with major Solana infrastructure
Fell short- Solana's restaking slashing mechanics are less mature than Ethereum's
- Launched in 2024 with a correspondingly thin record
Why the marks landed where they did
Restaking's premise is that idle staked capital can secure additional services for extra yield. On Ethereum that premise remains economically unproven — supply vastly exceeds paying demand. Solayer is applying the same model on Solana, one ecosystem earlier in the same experiment.
What it does
Users restake SOL or Solana liquid staking tokens to secure additional services, receiving a liquid token in return. Fees run around 5–10%, below the Ethereum norm, and integration across Solana infrastructure is good.
The maturity gap
Solana's restaking slashing mechanics are less developed than Ethereum's, which only enabled slashing after years of careful staged rollout. A restaking system whose penalties are not yet fully specified or enforced is one where the yield is real and the risk is theoretical — which sounds attractive and means the risk has simply not been priced yet.
Record
Launched in 2024, audited, no incidents. That is a very short record for a system holding meaningful deposits.
Who should use it
Solana users who want restaking exposure and understand they are early in an experiment whose economics are unresolved on the chain that pioneered it. Anyone whose objective is staking yield should use a plain LST such as JitoSOL and skip the extra layer.
FAQ
What is Solana restaking?+
Pledging staked SOL or Solana LSTs as security for additional services in exchange for extra yield, with the corresponding slashing exposure.
Is Solana restaking as mature as Ethereum's?+
No. The slashing mechanics are younger and less thoroughly specified than EigenLayer's, which were themselves new when they launched.
What does Solayer charge?+
Around 5–10% of rewards, below the Ethereum restaking norm.
How long has Solayer operated?+
Since 2024, which is a very short record for a protocol holding significant deposits.
