Validators and Staking
How validators secure the Solana network, what delegation means, and how to read performance metrics.
Validators are the computers that process transactions and produce blocks on the Solana network. Understanding their role is essential for anyone studying how the network maintains security and how staking delegation works.
What validators do
Each validator runs specialised software that receives transactions, orders them using Proof of History, executes them against the current state, and proposes new blocks. Other validators vote on whether the proposed block is valid. A supermajority of stake-weighted votes is required for finalisation.
Stake and delegation
Solana uses proof-of-stake: validators with more delegated stake have greater influence in consensus. Token holders can delegate their SOL to a validator without transferring ownership. In return, delegators earn a portion of the validator’s inflation rewards, minus the validator’s commission.
Reading validator metrics
When evaluating validators, consider:
- Uptime — Percentage of time the validator successfully voted on blocks
- Commission — The percentage of rewards the validator keeps (typically 0–10%)
- Skip rate — How often the validator fails to vote on blocks it should have
- Stake concentration — Whether the validator already holds a large share of total stake
Explorer tools like Solscan and Solana Beach provide these metrics for each validator.
Epochs and reward distribution
Solana divides time into epochs, each lasting roughly two to three days. Staking rewards are calculated at the end of each epoch and automatically added to your delegated stake. Unstaking requires deactivating your delegation and waiting for the current epoch to complete.
Risks to understand
Delegation does not guarantee returns. Validator performance can vary, and the value of SOL fluctuates. Slashing — penalties for malicious behaviour — exists in the protocol design though it has rarely been applied in practice.
For further study
Our Research Reading List includes papers on Solana’s consensus design. For ecosystem context, see the Ecosystem Overview.