Solayer (LAYER) Price

LAYER is Solayer's token: in Solayer's 2025 token design, it is positioned both as the native token of InfiniSVM and as the governance token for the Solayer protocol suite. Solayer Chain is described by the project as a hardware-accelerated, SVM-native blockchain; therefore, LAYER is not an entitlement token for a single standalone product, but a token connecting the network's positioning and protocol governance. “Native token” does not automatically mean that all network functions have already been enabled. The announcement explicitly focuses its launch-time use on governance, while listing network validator rewards and network Gas use as future functions; understanding LAYER requires distinguishing its stated current governance role from the design awaiting network-function implementation.

According to the token-design announcement, LAYER's stated use at launch is governance: holders can participate in governance concerning protocol upgrades, such as whether to add supported assets, and ecosystem priorities, such as funding. Here, the token provides governance rights to participate in these decisions, rather than a promise of project revenue, equity, or fixed returns. The practical effect of governance depends on proposals that are able to enter the governance process at that time and on their execution outcomes. In other words, holding LAYER does not automatically change the protocol; a specific issue must first exist, then a decision must be made and implemented through the applicable governance process.

Validator rewards and payment of network Gas are planned network-specific uses in the LAYER announcement, but the announcement does not present them as mechanisms available at launch. The design envisions validators receiving LAYER block rewards after participating in securing Solayer's proof verification, while users may pay Gas in LAYER when transacting on the network. These two uses correspond to different roles: the former is for participants that meet the network's validation requirements, and the latter is for users initiating on-chain transactions. The announcement also notes that both are future functions and may change with the design, so validator returns, participation eligibility, fee levels, or launch timing cannot be treated as established facts on that basis.

LAYER has a maximum supply of 1 billion tokens. The 2025 announcement divides it into four categories: community and ecosystem 51.23%, core contributors and advisors 17.11%, investors 16.66%, and Solayer Foundation 15%. Within community and ecosystem, this includes 34.23% for R&D, developer programs, and ecosystem growth; 14% for community activities and incentives; and 3% for Emerald Card community sales. The announcement gave an initial circulating supply of 210 million tokens at launch; this was launch-design data at that time and does not equal the actual circulating supply at any subsequent point in time. Maximum supply indicates the cap, allocation percentages indicate intended allocation directions, and tradable or claimable amounts are also affected by the unlock and claim rules of each category.

Different LAYER categories do not become available on the same schedule. Genesis Drop and Emerald Card community-sale allocations are fully unlocked at launch; community incentives vest linearly over 6 months; community and ecosystem and the Foundation vest every 3 months over 4 years; team and advisors are locked for 1 year and then vest linearly over 3 years; investors are locked for 1 year and then vest linearly over 2 years. Accordingly, “allocated” does not mean “freely usable or tradable”: before the lock-up period ends, team, advisor, and investor allocations have not been released under this vesting schedule; categories vesting quarterly or monthly are gradually released over time. Genesis Drop also provides eligible early community members with a portion unlocked at launch and a portion claimable by Epoch thereafter, with the announcement stating that the additional portion may be claimed over the following 6 months.

Genesis Drop is a LAYER distribution arranged by Solayer for existing community members. The announcement reserves a combined 12% for community members, integration partners, and liquidity providers, and lists groups including sSOL or sUSD holders, users who delegated sSOL to AVS partners, users who deposited sSOL or sUSD into partner DeFi protocols, users who deposited whitelisted LSTs, and participants in specified partner and wallet activities. These categories indicate that the distribution identifies the historical ecosystem-participation activities listed in the announcement, rather than being automatically available merely because someone currently holds LAYER. Specific eligibility, claimable amounts, and claim status remain subject to the relevant distribution page and current rules; the announcement itself does not make all users' eligibility or allocations the same.