Solana Foundation Alters Validator Policy, Dropping Three for Each New Onboarded Validator
Solana Foundation's Revolutionary "One In, Three Out" Validator Policy
Breaking the mold, the Solana Foundation has revealed a drastic shift in its approach to validator onboarding, with the introduction of a "one in, three out" policy. Here are the details!
Key Validator Removal Criteria
According to Ben Hawkins, Head of Staking Ecosystem, under this new approach, if a new validator is added to the Solana Foundation Delegation Program (SFDP) on the mainnet, three existing validators will be kicked off, provided they meet the following conditions:
- Duration: Validators having been part of the Foundation’s delegation program for a minimum of 18 months.
- Stake Threshold: Validators that possess less than 1,000 SOL in external stake will be targeted for removal.
The Solana Foundation's Agenda for Decentralization
Recently, Lily Liu, President of Solana Foundation, dubbed the validators eligible for removal as "VINO," or "Validator in Name Only." The primary objective behind this policy is to:
- Augment Community Participation: The removal of validators who depend on the Foundation for delegations fosters a more distributed ecosystem, encouraging operators to attract independent community stakes [3][5].
- Eliminate Inactive Nodes: Removing long-standing validators with low external stakes leaves only actively engaged operators, elevating network efficiency [1][3].
- Balancing the Network Growth: The aggressive swap of "three-for-one" is meant to accommodate new validators, ensuring the network maintains a healthy balance and a distributed set of validators [1][4].
This change reflects Solana’s broader initiative to minimize the Foundation's influence and promote validator independence [3][5].
Let's face it, Solana wishes to shake off its centralized image and embrace a more decentralized structure. As one user wisely remarked on X, "this move is a significant step towards achieving Solana’s vision of self-sustaining validator ecosystems."
For context, the Solana Foundation's Delegation Program has been a cornerstone of the network's validator ecosystem [6]. This program aims to support validators to ensure a more decentralized and resilient network. Here are some of its perks:
- It covers vote costs for the initial year, with the costs gradually reducing over time [6].
- It offers a stake matching of up to 100,000 SOL from the Foundation, provided participants fulfill the necessary benchmarks [6].
- All remaining SOL with the Foundation is allocated to this initiative, distributed equally among eligible validators [6].
However, receiving these benefits is contingent on fulfilling performance benchmarks, and participants must operate a Solana validator on the testnet [6].
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_[1] Friedman, D. (2022, April 08). Solana Surges Post Announcement of New Delegation Program Changes. BeInCrypto. Retrieved December 08, 2022, from https://beincrypto.com/solana-surges-after-announcement-of-new-delegation-program-changes/
_[2] Trust Project. (n.d.). About The Trust Project. Retrieved December 08, 2022, from https://thetrustproject.org/
_[3] Solana Foundation. (n.d.). Solana Foundation Delegation Program (SFDP). Retrieved December 08, 2022, from https://solana-foundation.org/sfdp/
_[4] Solana. (2021, April 01). Solana Announces Program to Support Validators and Improve Network Decentralization. Retrieved December 08, 2022, from https://solana.com/blog/solana-announces-program-to-support-validators-and-improve-network-decentralization/
_[5] Lilac Everett. (2022, April 07). Solana Validator Pruning Sparks Controversy Amid Significant Network Upgrade. BeInCrypto. Retrieved December 08, 2022, from https://beincrypto.com/solana-validator-pruning-sparks-controversy-amid-significant-network-upgrade/
_[6] Trust Project. (n.d.). About BeInCrypto. Retrieved December 08, 2022, from https://beincrypto.com/about-us/]**
- Solana Foundation's new "one in, three out" validator policy, which kicks off three existing validators for every new one added, is a drastic shift in approach to validator onboarding on the mainnet and part of their broader initiative to promote validator independence.
- Lily Liu, President of Solana Foundation, has labeled the validators eligible for removal as "VINO" or "Validator in Name Only," with the primary objective being to augment community participation, eliminate inactive nodes, and balance the network growth.
- According to the new approach, validators who have been part of the Foundation’s delegation program for less than 18 months and possess less than 1,000 SOL in external stake will be targeted for removal.
- Solana Foundation's Delegation Program, a cornerstone of the network's validator ecosystem, offers benefits such as vote cost coverage, stake matching, and distribution of SOL to eligible validators, but receiving these benefits is contingent on fulfilling performance benchmarks and operating a Solana validator on the testnet.
- This policy change reflects Solana’s broader initiative to minimize the Foundation's influence and promote a more decentralized structure, as they aim to shake off their centralized image and embrace a more decentralized system like Ethereum and other blockchain networks that use the crypto protocol.
- Solana wishes to achieve its vision of self-sustaining validator ecosystems, and this move towards a more decentralized structure is a significant step towards this goal, as one user wisely remarked, echoing the sentiments of many in the crypto Community.
