Key Takeaways
- Jason Li co-founded Solayer Labs, a restaking protocol on Solana focused on scalability, security, and asset returns.
- Li’s early career included roles at BlockShow and Intuition, gaining experience in the global fintech and blockchain industries.
- Li worked as a Senior Software Engineer at Youpi Inc., expanding his technical skills before co-founding Solayer Labs.
Who is Jason Li?
Jason Li is the co-founder and Head of Engineering at Solayer Labs, a native Solana restaking protocol that focuses on enhancing scalability, security, and asset returns. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in Computer Science from UC Berkeley with a 3.93 GPA, where he was active in Blockchain at Berkeley and worked as a TA for security and operating systems courses. He also studied business at Haas and previously led the Robotics Club at Victoria Junior College in Singapore.
Early Career As Head Manager
Jason Li has become a prominent figure in the blockchain world, recognized for his technical expertise and business acumen. He began working in blockchain in 2017 as the Head Manager for Greater China at BlockShow (run by Cointelegraph), while also serving as a Fintech Trainer and Consultant at Intuition. These jobs gave him early experience in the global fintech and blockchain industries.
First Business Ventures
In 2018, Jason Li co-founded InkyLabs Inc., marking his first step into the business world. In 2019, he co-founded LoopChat and led the engineering team there until 2022. His time at LoopChat provided him with more hands-on experience in blockchain and decentralized technology. During this time, Li also became more focused on blockchain security, which led him to start MPCVault. As a board member of MPCVault, he worked with Multi-Party Computation (MPC), a crucial technology that helps protect cryptocurrency assets.
Engineering Role Before Solayer
Before fully committing to Solayer Labs, Jason Li worked as a Senior Software Engineer at Youpi Inc. from 2023 to 2024. During this time, he had the opportunity to refine and expand his technical skills, deepen his engineering expertise, and gain valuable experience in software development. These lessons and insights would later serve as the strong foundation for the technical leadership he would provide at Solayer Labs.
Founding Solayer Labs
In the first quarter of 2024, Jason Li co-founded Solayer Labs and became the Head of Engineering. Solayer Labs is a restaking protocol built on Solana, designed to enhance scalability, security, and asset utilization across the network. It lets users restake their SOL or Solana-based liquid staking tokens (LSTs) into a new asset called sSOL. This new asset enables decentralized applications and facilitates verification services within the Solana ecosystem.
Growth and Innovation at Solayer Labs
Under Li’s leadership, Solayer created a single sSOL/SOL pool model to solve major liquidity issues that came with LST adoption. This model reduced price impact, lowered transaction costs, and made staking more efficient. Because of its solid foundation and creative design, Solayer raised $12 million in seed funding by August 2023. This funding was provided by investors such as Polychain Capital, Binance Labs, and Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko.
Technical Innovations at Solayer Labs
One of Jason Li’s key technical contributions at Solayer Labs is the development of InfiniSVM, an architecture that leverages InfiniBand RDMA technology. InfiniSVM enables extremely fast communication between nodes, allowing blockchain performance to approach the limits of the hardware. This innovation enables Solayer to handle more than 1 million transactions per second and achieve network bandwidth exceeding 100 Gbps, marking a significant step forward for decentralized infrastructures.
Scaling Solana with Solayer
In an episode of The Blockchain Report on Roxom TV, Jason Li, co-founder of Solayer, discusses the protocol’s rapid rise on Solana, with nearly $600 million in total value locked (TVL). He explains how Solayer’s Infinite SVM aims to handle 1 million transactions per second, improving blockchain performance with hardware support. Jason also discusses Solayer’s plans for an Emerald debit card and how they’re solving key issues like latency, security, and user experience in blockchain.
Ongoing Influence in Blockchain
Jason Li’s combination of technical expertise, leadership, and business acumen continues to drive the growth of blockchain infrastructure. His work, especially in the fast-growing Solana ecosystem, makes him an important figure in shaping the future of decentralized technologies.
Final Thoughts
Jason Li’s journey in blockchain has been shaped by innovation and leadership. From his early roles at BlockShow and his startup experiences with InkyLabs, LoopChat, and MPCVault, to co-founding Solayer Labs, Li has shown strong technical and business skills. His work at Solana Labs has led to groundbreaking developments, such as the Infinite SVM, which improves scalability and security on Solana. As he continues to make progress in the blockchain space, Jason Li remains a key figure in shaping the future of decentralized technologies.
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