Solana has rolled out a formal onchain governance system, giving validators and token holders a direct way to shape the network’s future through a new mechanism called Solana Governance Proposals (SGPs). Validators backed by at least 100,000 SOL can submit proposals, while delegators retain the ability to override how their validator votes.
The system, detailed in Solana’s GitHub repository, introduces a transparent and verifiable voting process for the first time, allowing stakeholders to record their decisions directly onchain.
Through SGPs, validators with a minimum of 100,000 SOL (roughly $7.7 million) staked can put forward proposals focused on major strategic directions. Voting operates similarly to shareholder systems, with influence tied to the amount of SOL committed.
Each proposal is presented as a clear, high-level question about the network’s direction. Votes are weighted by stake, logged onchain, and validated using Merkle proofs, enabling efficient verification without recalculating the entire count.
The governance model separates decision-making into two layers. SGPs determine whether a change should happen, while Solana Improvement Documents (SIMDs) define how it should be implemented from a technical standpoint.
A successful SGP acts as a mandate to proceed, after which developers translate the decision into one or more SIMDs for execution.
Before advancing to a vote, proposals must first gain support from at least 15% of active stake, a safeguard designed to ensure only meaningful issues reach a ballot while routine updates continue without requiring full governance approval.
Once this threshold is cleared, voting unfolds across Solana’s epoch-based schedule, with each epoch lasting around two days.
To pass, proposals must secure a two-thirds supermajority of participating stake, excluding abstentions. There is no minimum turnout requirement.
A defining feature of the system is the increased influence granted to delegators — users who stake SOL with validators rather than operating nodes themselves. These participants can override their validator’s vote or step in if the validator abstains, with voting weight proportional to their stake.
The Solana Foundation describes this approach as “staker sovereignty,” ensuring governance power ultimately remains with token holders rather than being concentrated solely among validators.
The launch comes as Solana regains momentum, with SOL climbing roughly 16% over the past week to around $78, outperforming much of the broader crypto market.
