The Solana Foundation adopts a new policy which will gradually remove validators with low external participation. This initiative aims to strengthen the decentralization of the network while responding to the concerns concerning the dependence of the validators in support of the Foundation.
In short
- For each new validator added, three long -term validators with a low external issue will be removed.
- Research shows that 57 % of Solana validators could fail without delegation from the Foundation.
- The increased autonomy of the validators strengthens the Nakamoto coefficient of the network.
A new approach to strengthen the autonomy of the Solana network
The Solana Foundation has announced a major transformation of its delegation policy. Ben Hawkins, head of the Staking ecosystem at the Foundation, revealed on Discord that a selective elimination system will be set up.
For each new validator joining the delegation program (SFDP), three validators will be excluded if they meet two conditions:
- to be eligible for the delegation for at least 18 months;
- Having attracted less than 1,000 external stake soil.
This strategic decision comes while the part of the stake delegated by the Foundation has been decreasing gradually since 2022. The objective is clear: to encourage validators to develop their own participants basis rather than depending exclusively on institutional support.
The new policy also meets the criticisms formulated by Kydo, head of special Eigenlayer projects.
The latter had raised concerns concerning the transparency of the network, saying that the majority of Solana validators “ only exist because the Solana foundation generated them “And that they” receive 90 to 100 % “of their foundation's development funds.
Challenges to overcome for lasting decentralization
A study Published by Helius in August 2024 highlights the extent of the challenge: if the delegation program stopped suddenly, 57 % of Solana validators would become unprofitable. These operators could no longer cover their operational costs, mainly made up of voting costs on the network.
Max Resnick, chief economist at Anza, however defends this approach with pragmatism:
Many validators today independent have started thanks to the SFDP program. Focusing only on the total number of validators is misleading – low -participation validators harm even to network performance.
This evolution is part of a broader plan for Solana. Other important changes are underway, including the MESA proposal by Galaxy Research to adjust soil inflation. In parallel, the market is impatiently awaiting the Solana ETF scheduled for June 2025.
The growing autonomy of the validators directly improves the Nakamoto coefficient of Solana, a crucial indicator measuring the effective decentralization of the network. The higher this coefficient, the more the blockchain resists the risks of centralization, thus strengthening its security and its credibility with institutional investors.
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