Solana Foundation launches on-chain validator governance

The Solana Foundation has introduced a formal on-chain governance system, enabling validators to propose and vote on major strategic directions for the network through stake-weighted polls. The new Solana Governance Proposals process, which launched this week, provides a structured path for high-level consensus on the blockchain's future before detailed technical work begins.

Under the new system, validators can submit proposals for a network-wide vote if their vote account holds at least 100,000 SOL staked. A proposal must then gain support from stake representing at least 15% of the active total before entering a formal 11-epoch voting period. For a proposal to pass, the "For" votes must constitute at least 66.67% of the combined "For" and "Against" stake, with no minimum quorum required. The process uses Merkle proofs against an on-chain stake snapshot to determine voting weight.

This governance framework is designed to address broad directional questions, such as whether the network should pursue a specific major upgrade. It operates separately from the existing Solana Improvement Documents process, which handles detailed protocol specifications. Officials described the...