Solayer (LAYER) Crashes 30% After April Surge

This article will be updated with new developments.

After a breakout month that saw Solayer (LAYER) climb more than 90%, the token has now dropped 30% in a single day – erasing a big chunk of recent gains in hours.

Here’s What We Know

LAYER fell from around $3.10 to nearly $2.00 within three hours – its steepest drop since launch. As of now, the Solayer team hasn’t made any public statement addressing the crash.

The token is now trading near its lowest point in almost two weeks, effectively wiping out all the gains made during its late-April run. Liquidity hasn’t dried up, and there’s no known exploit or technical failure.

Some users online have started comparing the situation to the recent Mantra (OM) crash – which saw a 90% drop in a few minutes. However, LAYER’s drop has been more gradual – consistent selling, not a single event. That suggests this may be driven by whales exiting or traders rotating profits, rather than panic or forced liquidations.

Token Unlock Ahead

Some users noted that there’s a scheduled token unlock on May 11 that will release 12.87% of LAYER’s circulating supply. While that’s a sizable amount, the crash doesn’t appear to be driven by this. The unlock has been public knowledge for weeks, and the scale of the drop is significantly larger than the size of the unlock.

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Why LAYER Was Pumping in the First Place

Solayer launched earlier this year with one clear mission: to bring restaking to Solana. Similar to how EigenLayer works on Ethereum, Solayer lets users take their staked SOL or LSTs (like mSOL and JitoSOL) and restake them to secure other services – oracles, bridges, and other off-validator infrastructure.

The draw was simple: higher yields, more utility, and better network security. Users earn rewards not just from Solana’s validator set, but from helping secure Actively Validated Services (AVSs) across the ecosystem. In return, they receive sSOL – a liquid token that represents their position inside Solayer’s restaking system.

That double-yield model caught fire quickly. Add in strong social momentum, early integrations with top LSTs, and a growing narrative around Solana’s staking evolution, and it’s no surprise LAYER ripped higher through April.

The Bottom Line

Solayer offered a compelling pitch: turn passive SOL into something more useful, earn more yield, and support core services across Solana. That story helped send LAYER up 90% in April. But now, with a 30% drop and no word from the team, the market is second-guessing the speed of that rally.

The technology is still there. But if LAYER doesn’t stabilize soon, the protocol may have to fight harder to rebuild confidence.