Solana launches on-chain governance with stake-weighted validator voting

The Solana Foundation is introducing a new governance system for the Solana network. Through so-called Solana Governance Proposals, or SGPs for short, validators will now be able to vote on key decisions within the ecosystem. This takes place on the blockchain itself, via stake-weighted votes where the amount of delegated SOL determines the weight of a vote.

Solana is available at OKX and Bybit.

How the SGP system works

To submit an SGP, a validator must have at least 100,000 SOL delegated to them. This is no small threshold, but it ensures that only serious parties can put forward proposals. Before a proposal reaches an official voting round, it must first gather support from at least 15% of the total network stake. Only then does it move to a formal vote.

The new system focuses on strategic, directional questions: should we do this at all? In this way, SGP clearly differs from the existing Solana Improvement Documents, also known as SIMDs. Those are about technical execution: how do we go about something? SIMDs are reviewed by core developers, while SGPs are decided by validators through on-chain voting. The two systems therefore complement each other.

Solana strengthens its position as a leading Layer 1

Solana is among the largest Layer 1 blockchains in the world, both in terms of market value and developer activity. With the introduction of on-chain governance, the network is taking a step towards more decentralised decision-making. Validators now gain direct influence over the direction the ecosystem takes, something that has long been standard on many other networks.

The Solana price is reacting positively to the news and stands at $78 at the time of writing, an increase of 4.8% in the past 24 hours. Whether the launch of SGP will have a structurally positive effect on the price remains to be seen, but it does show that the Solana community is actively working on the further development of the network. More Solana news will follow as soon as there are updates on the first proposals submitted through this system.