PANews reported on January 29th that, according to data from Solanacompass, the number of validator nodes on the Solana blockchain has plummeted from a peak of 2,560 to the current 795 since March 2023, a drop of 68%. This trend has raised concerns about the network's decentralization, as increased operating costs and zero-fee competition make it difficult for small node operators to survive.

Moo, an independent validator node operator, stated on the X platform that many small validators are considering shutting down their nodes, not because they have lost faith in Solana, but because they find it economically unsustainable. Moo pointed out that the 0% fee charged by large validators makes it unprofitable for small validators, turning decentralization into a "charitable act."

Furthermore, Solana's decentralization metric, Nakamoto Coefficient, also dropped from 31 in March 2023 to 20, a decrease of 35%. This metric measures the degree of decentralization of a blockchain, and the decline indicates that Solana's staking supply distribution has become more concentrated, and the network's decentralization level has decreased.

The surge in operating costs is likely the primary reason for the reduction in validator nodes. According to the technical documentation for Solana's validator node Agave, in addition to hardware and server costs, validators must hold at least 401 SOL annually to pay voting fees, requiring an initial investment of approximately $49,000 in SOL tokens to maintain operations. The Solana Foundation has not yet commented on this.