Gasless trading is one of Envestir's most user-friendly features, but how does it actually work under the hood? In this technical deep dive, we explain the architecture that makes it possible to trade on Solana without ever needing to hold SOL for transaction fees.
On the Solana network, every transaction requires a small fee paid in SOL to compensate validators for processing the transaction. This fee is typically around 0.000005 SOL, which is a fraction of a cent. However, requiring users to acquire and manage a separate token just for gas fees creates significant friction, especially for newcomers who may be depositing USDC for the first time.
Envestir solves this with a transaction relay system. When you initiate a trade, the app constructs the transaction and has you sign it with your wallet's private key. However, instead of submitting the transaction directly to the network, it is sent to our relay server. The relay wraps your signed instruction into a new transaction that it pays for with its own SOL, then submits it to the Solana network. Your trade executes exactly as if you had submitted it yourself.
The cost of sponsoring gas is minimal — typically less than a tenth of a cent per transaction — and is absorbed into the trading spread. This means there is no separate gas fee line item on your trade confirmation. The total cost you see is the total cost you pay. This approach is similar to how many traditional fintech apps operate — they handle infrastructure costs behind the scenes so users can focus on the product.
Our relay infrastructure runs on redundant servers to ensure high availability and low latency. Transactions are typically confirmed within one to two seconds, which is consistent with standard Solana transaction times. The relay never has access to your private keys or the ability to move your funds — it simply pays the gas fee and forwards your pre-signed transaction to the network.