AltCoinDesk caught up with Shenoy Phalgun, co-founder of SlinkyLayer, a project aiming to bring Web2 APIs on-chain and develop a new way how developers access and monetize digital infrastructure.
Phalgun explained that APIs – short for application programming interface – are a core building block for almost every application today, enabling developers to integrate complex services without building everything from scratch.
However, most existing API marketplaces still depend on Web2 payment rails and centralized intermediaries. This creates friction for both users and creators.
For developers, managing multiple API subscriptions becomes extremely challenging when an application may rely on thousands of APIs.
From a creator’s perspective, such API marketplaces often charge fees of around 20% and impose high payment delays of up to 60 days due to credit card settlement and chargeback risks.
SlinkyLayer addresses these problems by replacing credit card payments with on-chain and pay-per-call settlements using leading stablecoins such as Circle’s USDC. Developers pay only for what they use. At the same time, API creators receive faster payments and face significantly lower 5% platform fees.
The platform is going live on leading smart-contract platforms like Solana and Coinbase’s Base due to their low latency – a major requirement for API-heavy apps. Although these are the initial chains, there are plans to unveil support for more chains in the future.
Furthermore, SlinkyLayer offers token-based incentives through SLINKY token, in a way, encouraging verified API usage and on-chain reviews. SlinkyLayer has received backing from global digital assets leader Animoca Brands, and is already live on mainnet.
SlinkyLayer plans to onboard more Web2 APIs and expand into agent-to-agent use cases. The SLINKY token generation event is planned for Q1 2026.
