The Solana Foundation is taking bold steps to make its network more decentralized — and it’s saying goodbye to validators that aren’t pulling their own weight.
In a major update announced by Ben Hawkins, head of Solana’s staking ecosystem, the Foundation will begin removing support for so-called “validators in name only.” These are validators that rely almost entirely on the Foundation’s stake, without attracting much stake from the broader community.
Here’s how it’ll work: for every new validator added to the program, the Foundation will remove three that haven’t gathered at least 1,000 SOL from external stakers, provided they’ve had 18 months to prove themselves.
Why the shakeup?
The move comes as Solana faces growing concerns about centralization. Running a validation node on Solana is expensive — reportedly between $45,000 and $68,000 per year just in server costs. That makes it tough for smaller players to compete without help from the Foundation. But that support also creates a centralization risk: too many validators depending on one entity.
This new policy is about shifting power outward — rewarding those who can grow their own staker base and contribute to a stronger, more distributed network.
What’s at stake (literally)?
Solana is known for its strong staking participation. Around 65% of all SOL tokens are currently staked — far higher than Ethereum’s 28% or BNB’s 21%. And with staking yields hovering around 5.84%, according to Coinbase, the rewards can be attractive — though they fluctuate with SOL’s price.
Still, the Foundation wants to make sure those rewards are going to validators that are actually building and supporting the community — not just sitting idle with Foundation handouts.
In the long run, this shift could make the network more resilient and decentralized, while encouraging new validators to step up and earn their spot.
