Solana Validators Set for Revenue Increase Amid Staker Concerns
Solana validators are set to receive increased income through the implementation of a proposal that allocates 100% of priority fees to them. However, there are concerns regarding the lack of mechanisms for sharing these fees with stakers.
- In May, Solana validators approved the SIMD-0096 proposal to direct all priority fees to validators.
- Currently, validators retain half of the priority fees while the other half is burned.
- This situation has led some validators to create side deals with users, benefitting both parties.
- The SIMD-0096 proposal aims to eliminate these side deals but lacks an in-protocol method for fee distribution to stakers.
- Priority fees on Solana amounted to $240 million in January; implementing SIMD-0096 could have raised the blockchain's economic value by 22% last month.
- A newer proposal, SIMD-0123, seeks to allow validators to share priority fees with stakers but is unlikely to be enacted before SIMD-0096 takes effect.
- Stakeholders are advocating for simultaneous approval of both proposals to ensure equitable distribution of rewards.
Some validators, like Helius, plan to share rewards, while Jito’s TipRouter software offers additional options for distributing priority fees.