PANews reported on March 5 that asset management company VanEck said that Solana's planned protocol upgrade is crucial to the long-term health of the network, but it may deal a blow to validators' income. In March, Solana's validators will vote on two blockchain protocol upgrade proposals (SIMD) that aim to ensure rewards for stakers and adjust the inflation rate of the network's native token SOL.

Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, said in a March 4 X post that the two proposals have sparked “significant controversy” because they could cut validator revenue by as much as 95%, potentially endangering small operators. “While these changes may reduce staking rewards, we believe that lowering inflation is a worthwhile goal that would enhance Solana’s long-term sustainability,” Sigel said.

Sigel introduced that the first proposal, SIMD 0123, will introduce an in-protocol mechanism to distribute Solana's priority fees to validator stakers. Traders can pay additional fees to speed up transaction processing, and priority fees account for 40% of network revenue, but currently validators do not need to share with stakers. The proposal was voted on March 6, aiming to increase staking rewards, prevent off-chain transaction agreements, and strengthen on-chain execution. Sigel said that the second proposal, SIMD 0228, is the "most influential" proposal, which will adjust the SOL inflation rate so that it is inversely proportional to the percentage of staked token supply, which may reduce dilution and reduce the selling pressure on stakers. According to Coin Metrics, as of February, Solana's inflation rate was 4%, lower than the initial 8%, but still far above the terminal target of 1.5%, and is currently declining at a rate of 15% per year.