Solayer launches $35 million ecosystem fund, a key step in high-performance L1 competing for DeFi and AI applications

Solayer officially launches a $35 million ecosystem fund, jointly supported by Solayer Labs and the Solayer Foundation, focusing on funding real-time on-chain applications developed on the infiniSVM network. This move not only represents an investment in its high-performance L1 network but also a strategic layout in the competition for crypto infrastructure.

Performance Advantages of infiniSVM

infiniSVM is a high-speed L1 network launched by Solayer, compatible with the Solana toolchain. According to the latest news, the network has the following core metrics:

What do these numbers mean? Compared to Solana’s mainnet with approximately 60,000 transactions per second, infiniSVM’s throughput has increased by more than 5 times. A settlement time of 400 milliseconds approaches real-time, which is crucial for high-frequency trading, payment clearing, and other speed-sensitive applications.

Core Areas Supported by the Fund

This $35 million fund prioritizes projects in four areas:

• DeFi applications: real-time trading, lending, derivatives, and other high-frequency operation products
• Payment systems: solutions requiring fast confirmation and low latency
• AI-driven systems: AI trading products executing trades in real-time
• Asset tokenization: assets like US debt tokens, RWA, and others requiring efficient settlement

The fund emphasizes support for “projects with revenue models and high-frequency trading needs,” indicating that Solayer is not making scattershot investments but has clear selection criteria.

Market Context: Payment Card Boom and Ecosystem Expansion

It is worth noting that Solayer itself is involved in the crypto payment card space. According to recent market data, crypto-native payment cards have seen significant growth over the past month:

• Daily transaction count surged 22 times from December 2024, reaching nearly 60,000 transactions
• Daily transaction volume around $4 million
• Etherfi currently dominates the market, accounting for about 50% of transaction volume
• Other participants include Gnosis, MetaMask, and Solayer

This indicates that the crypto payment card market is rapidly maturing, and Solayer is investing through the fund to strengthen its position within this ecosystem.

Strategic Significance and Industry Trends

Ecosystem Supplement

Solayer’s previous launch of the Solayer Accel accelerator has been successful. The $35 million fund further deepens ecosystem development. From early incubation to growth-stage support, Solayer is building a comprehensive project support system.

Performance Competition

The competition among high-performance L1 networks is heating up. With 330,000+ TPS and a 400-millisecond settlement time, infiniSVM aims to gain a competitive edge in high-performance domains such as DeFi, payments, and AI applications. These applications are often limited by performance on traditional blockchains, and the emergence of infiniSVM opens new possibilities for them.

Emphasis on Revenue Models

The fund emphasizes supporting projects with revenue models, reflecting a reality: ecosystem prosperity requires sustainable business models. Not all high-throughput applications succeed; those capable of generating actual income and with clear commercial logic are the true foundation of the ecosystem.

Future Focus

The actual impact of this fund depends on several factors:

• Quality and execution capability of invested projects
• Stability and security validation of the infiniSVM network
• Actual adoption of DeFi and payment applications on the network
• Evolution of the competitive landscape among other high-performance L1s

Summary

Solayer’s $35 million ecosystem fund is not just an investment but a bet on the future of high-performance L1 networks. With 330,000+ TPS and near real-time settlement, infiniSVM provides a new infrastructure option for DeFi, payments, and AI applications. Against the backdrop of surging daily transaction volumes on crypto payment cards, Solayer is building its ecosystem through funds, accelerators, and other means, aiming to secure a position in the high-performance public chain competition. The key will be whether these investments can ultimately incubate applications with genuine market demand.