Solana has experienced a surge in trading activity, significantly benefiting its validators, who have seen revenues jump from about $4 million to $40 million every two days since last year. New validators, like Kairos Research in collaboration with Firstset, have emerged, collecting around $3 million in delegated SOL. Solana's higher hardware requirements for validators contribute to increased operational costs compared to other blockchains. The Solana Foundation assists new validators by covering voting costs, allowing Kairos and Firstset to operate at a cost of approximately $1,400 per month while breaking even. Validators generate revenue through SOL-denominated block rewards, MEV, and transaction priority fees. The competition in staking has intensified, with companies like Sol Strategies acquiring validator operations to enhance their position in this space. Helius, a leading validator, pivoted to staking following new network features aimed at optimizing transaction processing.

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