Native staking that finally makes sense: Ilya Tarutov on Tramplin.io Premium Staking

In this interview, Ilya Tarutov, founder of Tramplin.io, looks back on a decade in crypto and pinpoints the moment the industry shifted from building long-term value to chasing attention. He unpacks how NFTs, meme coins, and high-leverage trading reshaped user behaviour, often at retail’s expense.

Tarutov also explains why he returned to product building after years as an investor, outlines Tramplin.io’s premium staking model on Solana, and shares his view on what crypto must change to rebuild trust and re-engage everyday users.

Invezz: You’ve been in crypto since 2015. If you had to name one turning point when the industry shifted from building value to extracting attention, what was it, and what did that shift do to everyday users?

The big shift happened around 2020–2021, with the NFT boom, followed by meme coins and perp trading on exchanges.

Before that, most projects focused on technology and building: new protocols, trustless systems, and providing long-term utility. People genuinely believed they were changing the world.

Then the industry turned into a money-making machine for both the faster, bigger, earlier players, newcomers and small holders.

Projects have started focusing on liquidity instead of creating value. Memes have become the primary way people get into crypto, expecting 50–100x leverage.

Back then, you could believe in a project and hold it long-term.

Now, most people just end up becoming exit liquidity for someone quicker.

I saw this play out cycle after cycle from 2021 to 2025, and that’s exactly why I wanted to build something that gives a real chance to any user without putting their hard-earned capital at risk.

Invezz: After years of avoiding building products, what made this idea, to create Tramplin.io, impossible to ignore, and why launch now?

I kept telling myself I wouldn’t go back to building my own products again. Investing has become my full-time job, and I was watching startups sort of from the outside. But this idea just kept coming back to me. 

So we built it, and during testing, we received great feedback reaffirming our belief that this product is what the market needs.

Then we realised we’d accidentally recreated the model of the UK’s Premium Bonds, which is a popular product with millions of users and billions invested in it in the UK alone. 

We’d found a way to give people a meaningful chance for a reward with no risk to their capital, and crypto really didn’t have anything like it.

There’s a huge demand for something honest and safe, but with the thrill of possibility. Our team came together around the idea and built it. That’s why we’re doing this now: the timing feels perfect with the disappointments the latest cycles have brought.

Invezz: What is Tramplin.io, and how does it differ from standard native staking on Solana?

Tramplin.io  is a premium staking on Solana. We take native Solana staking and add a layer that redistributes rewards in a different way.

Usually, staking provides a predictable 5–7% APY (shared proportionally), which is basically “coffee money” for small amounts.

At Tramplin.io, all the staking rewards from Solana’s inflation go into pools and get randomly redistributed: every 10 minutes into a small pool and monthly into a big pool.

Users don’t receive a fixed percentage, but they get a shot at a much bigger win without extra risk to their capital. Their funds stay in their account; we never touch them. There’s no custody, no leverage, no DeFi risks.

Invezz: You describe the model as “premium staking.” What does “premium” actually mean in this context, especially for someone staking a small amount?

Premium staking means we add an extra layer on top of standard native staking. This layer introduces an additional opportunity, but it does not work as a VIP service.

Users still delegate SOL via regular staking and do not put their capital at risk. The only thing that changes is how the already-earned yield is distributed.

In traditional staking, rewards are paid proportionally to stake size, which can feel very insignificant for small accounts with balances.

With Tramplin.io, a portion of the yield is redistributed as random, larger payouts. This gives even small users a genuine opportunity for a meaningful increase.

But this is a chance, not a guarantee. We make no promises of extra yield or fixed returns. The distribution happens under transparent, verifiable on-chain rules, and every user has access to this data.

The approach does follow the same principle as UK Premium Bonds: there might be some time without any yield, but if there’s a reward, it can be significantly higher than standard APY. And I think it’s important to mention that the original capital is always preserved.

Invezz: DeFi often promises high APYs without clarity. What does “honest yield” mean in practice for Tramplin.io?

“Honest yield” means the source is clear, transparent, and doesn’t rely on endless new money or hidden risks.

In Tramplin.io, rewards only come from Solana’s native rewards system, which means no additional token emissions, no risky strategies, and no redistribution from newbies to pros. 

Invezz: Who controls the stake account, and what happens if the Tramplin.io interface goes down or disappears entirely?

The staking account is 100% under the user’s control; it’s a standard native Solana staking account. We never have access to the funds; there’s no custody.

If, for any reason, the Tramplin.io interface disappears or shuts down, nothing changes for the user. They can open any compatible wallet like Phantom or Backpack, check their stake, and withdraw it, following regular Solana rules. Everything is built so that even in the worst-case scenario, users keep their funds. 

Invezz: You ran a Dune analysis on “sleeping wallets.” What does it say about how retail behaves on Solana today?

We looked at wallets holding 1–100 SOL (that’s typical retail size): our data showed about 2 million wallets holding SOL without staking. Only around 560,000 wallets in that range actually stake.

The reason? Regular staking gives tiny rewards of $2-5 a month that don’t (usually) motivate people. After what the industry has experienced through 2021-2025, folks are scared of risky alternatives, so they just sit on their SOL.

That’s a huge amount of idle capital: millions of people believe in Solana but aren’t actually participating in the network.

Give them a safe, engaging way to join, and they’ll start participating.

What we’re seeing with Tramplin.io: users start with 1 SOL, try our model, like the experience, and start adding more.

Invezz: From your perspective, what’s the most realistic way to bring new users into the Solana ecosystem, and how can products like Tramplin.io help make that onboarding stick?

The most realistic way to attract new people to Solana isn’t hype or quick “get-rich” schemes; it’s making crypto feel like traditional finance, but faster, easier, more accessible, and more meaningful. 

Newcomers need to have the ability to start with a small amount, test things out without risks, and then they need a reason to stay and continue.

Solana is already leading here: it provides instant transactions, low fees, and user-friendly wallets like Phantom or Backpack, even for total beginners. But to keep people engaged after their first try, you need products with a familiar TradFi-like experience, not casino vibes.

And long-term holders and users are what really support the network.

Invezz: What do you think the crypto industry is missing right now, and what kind of crypto culture are you trying to bring back?

The industry is missing responsibility and real respect for users.

We started with open systems, equal access, and tech that could change the world and improve people’s lives. Then crypto became a place where most products either don’t solve any real problems or are built to make money quickly and leave.

The culture I want to bring back is to build things that genuinely make everyday lives better.

The one where the market’s decline doesn’t mean total losses, where security is built into the architecture of the product and is not just a marketing buzzword.

The culture where small users don’t feel left out and have a real shot to participate. That’s what I want to see and build. 

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