The Solaxy crypto, $SOLX, presale has been ongoing for seven months, raising an impressive $47 million. The crypto project claims to be developing a Solana Layer-2 blockchain, but transparency remains a concern. We previously reviewed Solaxy and questioned its legitimacy because the founders remain anonymous, and it’s unclear who is actually building the ecosystem. In a separate investigation, we found that many recent crypto presales appear to originate from the UK, raising the possibility that Solaxy may also be associated with the UK.
The lack of transparency isn't unique to the Solaxy presale. Other Layer-2 blockchain projects have held crypto presales with similar concerns. Pepe Unchained, which raised over $73 million in its Ethereum Layer-2 $PEPU presale, built its blockchain using off-the-shelf solutions. Some suspected Finixio was involved, though no direct evidence confirmed this.
With Solaxy raising tens of millions yet offering little insight into its development or fund allocation, we set out to investigate:
How much does it really cost to build a Solana Layer-2 blockchain?
Solaxy Crypto ($SOLX) Layer-2 Blockchain: How Much Does It Cost to Build?
The Solaxy crypto Layer-2 blockchain solution ($SOLX) uses frameworks such as Hyperlane and Celestia, integrating custom code and open-source libraries to enhance efficiency and security. This hybrid approach enables faster implementation without requiring the complete rebuilding of everything from scratch.
While our development team has experience in web development, Web3 technologies, and blockchain development, we have never built a Layer-2 blockchain solution ourselves. To bridge the gap and obtain an estimate as accurate as possible, we used OpenAI’s latest GPT-4.5 model.
We provided the AI model with Solaxy's development updates, as were shared on their official X (Twitter) account. The result? A cost estimate based on a mix of off-the-shelf solutions and custom blockchain development.
The AI-generated estimate provided us with the following cost breakdown for developing a Solana Layer-2 blockchain:
| Component | Custom or Off-the-shelf? | Cost Range (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Rollup Infrastructure (zkVM + SVM) | Custom | $290,000–$1,000,000 |
| Bridging & DA (Celestia/Solana) | Mostly Off-the-shelf | $100,000–$250,000 |
| Wallet, Launchpad & Front-end UI | Partly Custom | $75,000–$500,000 |
| Cross-chain Bridging (Hyperlane) | Mostly Off-the-shelf | $50,000–$100,000 |
| Security Audits & Testing | Third-party audits | $50,000–$150,000 |
Given our background in blockchain development, these estimates seem reasonable. However, for the purposes of this article, we used the upper-end estimate ($2 million) and tripled it, rounding up to account for potential underestimation. This yields an upper-bound estimate of $6 million for developing an ecosystem for a Solana Layer-2 blockchain solution.
Solaxy Presale ($SOLX): Where Did the $47 Million Go?
With $47 million raised in the Solaxy presale, the estimated upper limit of the development cost, $6 million, represents only 12% of the total funds raised. Even factoring in additional expenses, such as marketing, community building, infrastructure, fees, developer payments, and operational costs, doesn’t account for the remaining 88% of the funds.
In the absence of a public breakdown of fund allocation, the lack of transparency raises questions about the legitimacy of the Solaxy presale, leaving investors in the dark. While the provided figures are estimates, they illustrate a critical point: even crypto projects developing legitimate Web3 solutions risk appearing to be crypto scams in the absence of transparency and clear accountability for the funds raised.
