- OpenZeppelin, a leading platform for building smart contracts, has revealed an official alpha release of its Relayers that are tailored for the Solana network.
- As per the release, this allows decentralized applications to accept any token for transaction fee payments instead of users being required to hold Solana.
Solana, the seventh-largest cryptocurrency with over $22 billion worth of on-chain assets, is moving further away from its competitors Cardano (ADA) and Tron (TRX) by offering developers an unbeatable new tool, OpenZeppelin’s Solana Relayers, now available as an open-sourced alpha.
OpenZeppelin explains in its report, “Solana Relayers implement a standardized RPC API interface that enables users to relay transactions and pay fees using other supported tokens instead of SOL, or have the relayer sponsor the transaction entirely.” Let’s dissect what this means for Solana and how it benefits users and developers.
What Are Relayers?
In traditional blockchain networks, users need to pay fees for transactions through the native token SOL, in the case of Solana. That may not be easy, especially for new users who don’t have SOL in their pockets.
As per Solana’s announcement, relayers solve this issue by acting as intermediaries that pay network fees in SOL on behalf of the users. Rather than being required to use SOL, users can pay fees in other tokens like USDC, BONK, or any other supported token. The process, known as gas abstraction, makes blockchain interaction easier and more convenient to use without the burden of having to use SOL for each transaction.
Solana Devs: OpenZeppelin just open-sourced Solana Relayers in alpha!
With Solana Relayers, you can:
— Accept any token for fees in your app
— Sponsor transactions for users (no SOL needed)
— Integrate with key management services for fee paymentStart experimenting 🧵 pic.twitter.com/ir3VS2LsLr
— Solana Developers (@solana_devs) April 9, 2025
With OpenZeppelin’s alpha release of Solana Relayers, devs can now integrate this feature into their dApps and reduce adoption hurdles. The open-source relayers have a wide range of uses, from executing on-chain updates based on off-chain data to periodic wallet transfers, all on-chain security processes automated, and the creation of custom workflows with maximum flexibility and logic.
Ever since they were first released in 2020, relayers have processed over 40 million transactions on over 70 blockchain networks already, showing just how efficient and reliable they are. By making the relayers available as an open-source product, Solana amplifies its competitive edge by improving the user experience and enhancing developer efficiency through automated complex transactions.
Meanwhile, OpenZeppelin also stated that it would widen its native support to additional blockchains, including Base, Arbitron (ARB), Polygon (MATIC), BNB Chain, zkSync, and Scroll. This expansion will work to maximize transaction management between multiple networks in the coming weeks.
On top of this, Solana has launched Confidential Balances, a toolset that conceals transaction amounts while preserving on-chain verification and regulatory compliance. This further strengthens Solana’s reputation as a developer-friendly blockchain.
Currently, Solana is trading at $107 after a 1.16% drop over the past day and a 13.52% decline over the past week. Its trading volume has also taken a hit, sliding 22.95% to $5.78 billion. Despite the short-term downturn, analysts predict that SOL could recover and potentially break past the $177 level in the near future.