How Much Do Solana Validators Make? (2024)

How much do validators make?

With over a thousand Solana validators operating at present there is a huge range in earnings, with many of the validators running at a loss, while some of the largest could be making profits in the millions each year from delegators staking their solana.

Aside from hosting costs - which can run to the tens of thousands of dollars annually - Solana validators must pay to be eligible to vote. This means a fixed cost of roughly 3 SOL every epoch (2-3 days), which at the time of writing equals costs of ~$150 every single day.

In exchange, a validator earns revenue in two ways:

  • Charging a commission on the rewards generated by the stakes they hold
  • A smaller fee for the votes submitted as 'leader' - this is typically very small unless the validator also holds a lot of stake

Commissions can be set by the validator and for public validators they range between 0 and 10%. So as an example, the current Solana network rewards are around 8% of stake annually.

If a validator has 50,000 SOL in stake delegated to it across the network, then each year it would generate roughly 50000*.08= 4000 SOL in rewards for its stakeholders. Rewards are paid every epoch, and there are roughly 134 epochs in the year.

Depending on the commission the validator charges, it could earn

  • 4000 * .10 = 400 SOL annually at 10% commission
  • 4000 * .08 = 320 SOL annually at 8 % commission
  • 4000 * .05 = 200 SOL annually at 5% commission

Yet in the same period it would need to pay 134*3 = 402 SOL to the network to be eligible to vote.

This means any validator with less than 50,000 in stake from other parties is running at a loss, and likely hoping to grow their delegated stake before it becomes unsustainable. Presently there are 132 validators losing money on the network out of 1,002 total validators

Of course this calculation doesn't account for the staked amount the validator actually owns, as they will receive 100% of the rewards. So while 50,000 SOL is the breakeven point for a validator charging 10% commission, a validator needs to own 'just' 5000 SOL staked to its own network to break even. At current rates that is still around $750k worth of SOL, which few of us have sat around waiting to invest.

Instead, most validators will need to focus on marketing their validator, just like any other business startup. If they can hustle to attract stake to their validator then they can build a sustainable business, but they must be prepared to spend SOL in the short term until their stake grows to a sustainable level.

Want to support a smaller validator? We're bootstrapping our own validator to support the Solana network here - delegate stake to us to earn a great APY, help us become sustainable and secure + decentralize the Solana network

On the flip side, the validators at the top of the list are earning handsomely. The top validation network by size of stake is Chorus One, which currently has roughly 15 million SOL staked to its validator and charges a fee of 8%.

From that number we can estimate they make a profit of $18 million per year, although this is likely ignoring the costs of their hosting infrastructure, dev ops staff and other costs that come with scale, as well as over simplifying: SOL may be worth $180 today, but for most of the year the price of the coin - and the amount staked on the network - has been considerably lower.

How Much Do Solana Validators Make? (2024)

FAQs

How much can you make being a Solana validator? ›

Validators can earn aproximately a 5% annualized reward rate. Solana's initial inflation rate is 8% annually, decreasing by 15% YOY, reaching a long-term fixed inflation rate of 1.5% annually. 100% of the inflationary issuances (rewards) are delivered to delegated stake accounts and validators.

How much do you make running a Solana node? ›

A user starting out with 10 Solana, or about $300 on the platform, can earn about 0.04 token a month, or 0.54 over the course of the year. Lido distributes staking rewards to users and takes a 10% commission on those rewards, which is lower than the commission that Coinbase charges.

Should I run a Solana validator? ›

Why should I run a validator node? Validators can earn SOL for helping secure the Solana network. Here's an overview of the economics, and here's an overview of staking rewards. Validators also help increase censorship resistance on the network by increasing decentralization.

Is being a validator profitable? ›

Running a Bitcoin validator node is not profitable. It's a money pit. A validator node is nothing more than a person/miner dedicating his miners hashing power in order to validate transactions. It is not an active mining node which can get compensation for actively mining a block.

Do validator nodes make money? ›

Validator nodes are the backbone of blockchain, and they make money whether the crypto market moves up, down or sideways.

How much do you make as a validator? ›

$97,696

Is running Solana node profitable? ›

How much do validators make? With over a thousand Solana validators operating at present there is a huge range in earnings, with many of the validators running at a loss, while some of the largest could be making profits in the millions each year from delegators staking their solana.

How to earn passive income with Solana? ›

Method 1 — Stake using a Web3 wallet (4–5% APY)
  1. Create a Phantom wallet. This takes 2 minutes.
  2. Transfer some SOL from an exchange to your Phantom wallet.
  3. Delegate your SOL with a validator (see below).
  4. Rewards will begin accruing in the next epoch (every 2.5 days).

What is the best validator to stake Solana? ›

Staking Solana is especially done with Everstake - a validator with over 100,000 delegators - although some pools have high stakes with considerably less delegators.

How many validators does Solana need? ›

On Solana, the Nakamoto Coefficient is 31. This means the lowest number of validators that would have to collude to censor the network is 31.

What is the best validator for staking? ›

Some of the biggest validator companies include exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase. Among some companies that also act as protocol developers include Chorus One, Figment Network, and Cryptum Labs. You can also go for individual validator companies such as Chainflow or Everstake.

Can anyone become a Solana validator? ›

The Solana network is permissionless, so anyone can become a validator.

How much can you make staking Solana? ›

Staking your Solana helps secure the Solana blockchain and earns you additional SOL as a reward. SOL staking has historically yielded around 5.5% APY, but keep in mind the network inflation rate validator commission, as both will impact your net staking rewards.

Why do you need 32 ETH to be a validator? ›

An ETH validator node participates in consensus. They generate valuable ETH staking rewards. Validators must stake 32 ETH (or multiples of 32 ETH). This high capital requirement ensures validators have 'skin-in-the-game' to perform well.

How much can you make as an eth2 validator? ›

Collin Myers, head of global product strategy of ConsenSys at the launch of the Ethereum 2.0 network, said that “validators with 32 ETH can expect to earn up to 4.6 to 10.3% in annualized returns.” On average, investors in Ethereum, can expect to earn around $29.17 in a day from staking.

How much does it cost to run a validator node? ›

The cost of running a block-producing validator node is estimated to be $330 per month for hosting. Please see our hardware and cost estimates page for more info. The current active Validators are available on the Explorer.

What is the most profitable crypto node to run? ›

Best Masternode Projects – Most Profitable Masternode Cryptos
  • StrongBlock.
  • SysCoin.
  • SmartCash.
  • Firo.
  • ALQO.
  • Phore.
  • Zenon.
  • Stakenet.
Feb 9, 2022

How much money can you make as a crypto validator? ›

For example, if you wanted to stake Ethereum as an independent validator using Bitfinex, you can currently earn $755 monthly or $8,948 annually. While this is by no means an amount you could live off of, it would certainly add a nice bonus to your regular yearly salary.

How much can you earn from crypto validator node? ›

Compare the percentage returns available: running a validator node offers an average annualised return of around 14.2%. Staking ETH through a third-party pooled service like a staking pool can earn an average of 13%, while through an exchange is more likely to earn in the region of 12%.

How do I start a Solana validator? ›

  1. Configure Solana CLI.
  2. Confirm The Cluster Is Reachable.
  3. Enabling CUDA.
  4. System Tuning. Linux.
  5. Generate identity. Paper Wallet identity. Vanity Keypair.
  6. More Solana CLI Configuration.
  7. Airdrop & Check Validator Balance.
  8. Create Authorized Withdrawer Account.

How much does it cost to run a Solana validator node? ›

Since all votes in Solana happen on the blockchain, a consensus validator node incurs a transaction cost for each vote that it makes. These transaction fees amount to approximately 1.1 SOL per day.

How much do Solana Devs make? ›

Solana Developer Salary - Jan 2023
SeniorityAvg Yearly SalaryMin Yearly Salary
Junior$50k$30k
Middle$105k$60k
Senior$145k$125k

How much do Solana developers make? ›

Salary will be determined through the interview process after a review of experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, equity, and location, as well as alignment with market data. The estimated salary range for this position is $84K - $120K USD.

What is the highest yield staking crypto? ›

The cryptocurrencies with the highest staking market cap include ETH, SOL and ADA, in which the typical annual yield is around 4% to 5%. Note rewards on the Ethereum network are typically locked up until the Ethereum 2.0 network is complete. Also of note, more than 10% of Ethereum is staked.

Can you lose Solana staking? ›

You risk losing tokens when staking through a process known as slashing. Slashing involves the removal and destruction of a portion of a validator's delegated stake in response to intentional malicious behavior, such as creating invalid transactions or censoring certain types of transactions or network participants.

Who are Solana biggest validators? ›

Validator Leaderboard
RankValidator↻ + Create a new stake account
1bc42Stake
2StakeHaus - 0% FeeStake
3Leapfrog 🐸 topvalidators.appStake
4🌱ChiveStaking🌱 | 0% Fee High APYStake
46 more rows

How much Solana Do you need to start staking? ›

What is the minimum amount I need to start staking? An amount over 0.01 SOL is required to start staking as there is a 0.01 SOL minimum reserve.

Should I stake with multiple validators? ›

Distribute your stake across multiple validators to minimize your risk in case a validator goes offline or misses consensus rounds, which may result in you missing out on all of your staking rewards, as well as to encourage greater network diversity.

How many validators should I choose? ›

Choose more than one validator

However, there is a risk of getting no rewards if you nominate very few validator candidates and none of them are chosen. Therefore, it is safer to choose as many trustworthy validators as you can (up to 16 on Polkadot and up to 24 on Kusama).

How to earn Solana for free? ›

Daily Missions Conquer 5 learning missions. Get free Solana.
  1. Create your free Solana account and complete your KYC. ...
  2. Refer your friend and get free Solana. ...
  3. Become an Affiliate Start Earning free Solana. ...
  4. Deposit minimum 10,000 INR and get free Solana in cash. ...
  5. Solana Trading activities on Buyucoin.

Are validators miners? ›

Under PoS, block creators are called validators. A validator checks transactions, verifies activity, votes on outcomes, and maintains records. Under PoW, block creators are called miners. Miners work to solve for the hash, a cryptographic number, to verify transactions.

What is the easiest crypto to stake? ›

The Best Coins to Stake
  • Binance Coin.
  • Cardano.
  • Ethereum.
  • Polkadot.
  • Polygon.
  • Solana.
  • Terra.
  • USDC.
Jul 14, 2022

What is the risk of staking Sol? ›

Liquidity Risk on staking SOL is low.

In more liquid staking systems however, stake is added to a liquidity pool and redeemable at any time. This is also the case with staking on SOL. Liquidity risk is therefore set to 1/10.

How much Luna does it take to become a validator? ›

Is there a minimum amount of Luna that must be staked to be an active (bonded) validator? ​ There is no set minimum. The top 130 validators with the highest total stake (where total stake = self-bonded stake + delegated stake) make up the active validator set.

How long does Solana staking last? ›

The Solana protocol only allows stake tokens to finish changing state at the beginning of a new epoch. An epoch is approximately 2 days long.

How much can you make staking 32 ETH? ›

The primary reason why many people would want to invest in Ether is to obtain the APR, or annual percentage rate, which can range from 6% to 15%. With the minimum need of 32 ETH, you may expect to earn anywhere between 2 and 5 ETH at current prices.

How does Solana choose validator? ›

Solana uses a delegated Proof of Stake protocol, this means that anyone who owns SOL can delegate some or all their SOL to a validator, whereby the validator then earns “weight” on the network which leads to them being assigned as a leader for more slots, as well as earning more rewards for voting.

Why do validators need staking? ›

Staking requires users to commit their assets to the blockchain to validate cryptocurrency transactions and ensure integrity of the blockchain. It works with cryptocurrencies that use a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism to validate transactions.

What is a typical validator's reward in Ethereum? ›

A validator that has made timely source, target and head votes, proposed a block and participated in a sync committee could receive 64/64 * base_reward == base_reward . However, a validator is not usually a block proposer, so their maximum reward is 64-8 /64 * base_reward == 7/8 * base_reward .

Is staking eth2 risky? ›

ETH staking is experimental and involves some risks including possible failure of the network. Please ensure you independently assess, understand, and accept the related risks before deciding to stake. An important risk to be aware of is the possibility of losing your staked assets due to slashing.

Is staking 32 ETH worth it? ›

Not really unless you envisage not needing the money for a very long time, when staking your 32 Ethereum you are committed to an indefinite time period. Personally I would look to put your Ether into a wallet that pays interest then you still have access to your money if needed.

What is the best validator for Solana? ›

Staking Solana is especially done with Everstake - a validator with over 100,000 delegators - although some pools have high stakes with considerably less delegators.

How do Solana validators make money? ›

In exchange, a validator earns revenue in two ways: Charging a commission on the rewards generated by the stakes they hold. A smaller fee for the votes submitted as 'leader' - this is typically very small unless the validator also holds a lot of stake.

Do validators get paid? ›

To be a validator, you need to stake a certain amount of crypto for a chance of being randomly selected for the task. The minimum staking amounts differ depending on the coin in question, but this can vary massively. Validators get paid in crypto for their work, which is why many people want to give it a go.

Can I lose my Solana while staking? ›

You risk losing tokens when staking through a process known as slashing. Slashing involves the removal and destruction of a portion of a validator's delegated stake in response to intentional malicious behavior, such as creating invalid transactions or censoring certain types of transactions or network participants.

How do you farm yield on Solana? ›

What are the Best Yield Farming Strategies on Solana?
  1. Borrow USDH with Hubble at Competitive Rates in DeFi.
  2. Try Solana's Most Paired Native Stablecoin with USDH.
  3. Join the Hubble Protocol Community with USDH.
  4. Find Yield Farming Opportunities with USDH.
Jul 21, 2022

How profitable is being an ethereum validator? ›

Anyone who owns Ether tokens can become a validator and earn awards in the process. The interest rate counterpart of these incentives is currently approximately 7.5% per year.

How do you pick a good validator for staking? ›

There are, however, some qualities that you should consider when picking a validator:
  1. High Uptime. ...
  2. Reliable. ...
  3. Frequent Updates. ...
  4. Low (But Not Zero) Fees.
Mar 11, 2022

How do I choose a good validator? ›

Best Practices for Nominating: Points to consider
  1. Choose more than one validator. ...
  2. Check if the validator has verified their identity. ...
  3. Be aware of the "most profitable" option. ...
  4. Pay attention to the quoted commission. ...
  5. Make sure the validator is not oversubscribed. ...
  6. See how much "skin in the game" the validator has.
Jan 17, 2023

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