2025-12-25 16:24:48

The negative signals in the Solana ecosystem continue to be released. According to on-chain data, to achieve validator breakeven under 0% commission, $17 million in staking needs to be locked — which is no small amount.

What’s more noteworthy is the trend in the number of validators. It has dropped from 2,500 in March 2023 to 795 now, a decline of over 68%. Recently, two more validators publicly announced their exit in December, with the straightforward reason — they can’t bear the losses.

The contrast is very clear. The Solana network’s annual revenue reaches $1.4 billion, making the financial report look impressive, but this revenue is essentially eaten up by big whales, and small validators are unable to participate at all. The result is — the number of capable nodes is decreasing, and the network is accelerating toward centralization. The SOL price is also under pressure, having already fallen 53% from its high.

The underlying validator economic model has a problem, directly leading to increased node concentration, continuous participant exit, and price pressure stacking up. This exposes an awkward reality: the contradiction between the ideal of decentralization and actual operation is becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile.

SOL0.08%

View Original

This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.

10 Likes

Reward
10
4
Repost
Share

Comment

0/400

DegenWhisperer

· 4h ago

Validators running away is tough for everyone. Starting with $17 million is really a bit outrageous. SOL is self-sabotaging, isn't it? The facade of decentralization is becoming harder and harder to maintain. With 68% of validators fleeing, whales are enjoying 1.4 billion in revenue. How can this be played now? Promised decentralization? Is this it? Whales feast while small investors are sacrificed. From 2,500 down to 795, Solana's centralized dream is becoming clearer. $17 million to avoid losses? This is not a game ordinary players can participate in. Small validators being pushed out—this is what blockchain is called? All 1.4 billion in revenue is eaten up by big players. No wonder people are fleeing; it's too surreal. Centralization is accelerating rapidly. How much longer can SOL last?

View OriginalReply0

ProtocolRebel

· 4h ago

Validators have dropped to only 795. How far is this from "decentralization"? Whales dominate the scene, small investors can't get any benefits, no wonder everyone has left. --- Is 1.4 billion in revenue still a loss? This model is really problematic, not just mediocre. --- What does a 68% drop indicate? It shows that Solana's approach can't sustain validators at all, the facade of decentralization should have been torn down long ago. --- 1700 million in locked tokens to balance? Laughable, this is the cost of centralization. --- Whales eat the meat, small investors drink the soup, and in the end, there's no soup left. The network has become so hollow—how can anyone still talk about the ecosystem? --- It looks like SOL has bottomed out. Should we copy now?

View OriginalReply0

DAOplomacy

· 4h ago

the validator exodus is honestly just exposing what we've all kinda known... solana's incentive structure was never really designed for the little guy. 68% collapse in node count isn't a bug, it's the feature working as intended ngl. whales gonna whale, network goes brr toward centralization, rinse repeat. path dependency is real here.

Reply0

CodeAuditQueen

· 4h ago

This is a typical economic model spillover—apparent prosperity on the surface, underlying collapse. Validators dropped from 2500 to 795, a 68% decline, indicating that the design logic completely failed to consider the survival space of small nodes, comparable to poorly implemented permission checks in smart contracts.

View OriginalReply0