New Validators Emerge Amidst Surge in Solana Network Usage
Solana has experienced significant trading activity, benefiting its network validators. Key points include:
- Validator revenue has increased from approximately $4 million every two days last year to at least $40 million since November.
- Kairos Research launched a new Solana validator with around $3 million in delegated SOL, facing high hardware costs due to Solana's requirements.
- The Solana Foundation supports new validators by covering voting costs and staking SOL, helping Kairos's operation break even at $1,400 monthly.
- Validators earn from block rewards, MEV, and priority fees; those with more SOL staked have higher chances of earning rewards.
- Helius became the largest validator with over 3% of total stake after implementing a new feature that enhanced transaction prioritization.
- Sol Strategies acquired two validator operations, generating significant revenue (100 to 200 SOL per epoch).
- Max Kaplan of Sol Strategies stated profitability in the competitive staking space requires expertise in system optimization or business development.
- Future validator profits will depend on maintaining the current usage levels on the Solana network.