Binance Labs invests in Solana restaking protocol Solayer
Quick Take
- Binance Labs has invested in Solayer, a Solana restaking protocol.
- The protocol is currently the 13th largest Solana protocol, according to DeFiLlama.
Binance Labs, the $10 billion venture capital and incubation arm of crypto exchange Binance, has invested an undisclosed sum in Solayer, a Solana restaking protocol.
Binance Labs’ investment in Solayer comes as the firm continues to bet big on crypto's staking and restaking verticals. In recent months, Binance Labs has invested in various staking projects across ecosystems, including Ethereum, Bitcoin and Berachain. These include Ethereum liquid restaking protocols Puffer Finance and Renzo, Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon and Berachain liquid staking protocol Infrared.
What is Solayer?
Solayer is a Solana restaking protocol, similar to the pioneering Ethereum restaking protocol EigenLayer. Restaking allows users to earn additional rewards by locking up their staked assets again in different protocols, known as actively validated services (AVSs), to maximize their earnings.
For native Solana (SOL) restaking, Solayer first converts SOL to an intermediary form called sSOL-raw, which is the liquid staking token (LST) issued by the stake pool manager, according to its website. The sSOL-raw is then converted to sSOL after another interaction with the Solayer restaking pool manager, per the site.
Within a few weeks of its launch, Solayer has risen to become the 13th largest protocol on Solana with over $150 million in total value locked (TVL), according to DeFiLlama. Solayer currently has over 79,000 depositors, per its website.
With fresh capital from Binance Labs, Solayer plans to scale its team and onboard new protocols into the ecosystem.
The Funding newsletter: Stay updated on the latest crypto funding news and trends with my bimonthly newsletter, The Funding. It's free. Sign up here!
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.
© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.