On August 28, participants in Solana's on-chain governance made a landmark decision: proposal SGP-0002 was approved, meaning the annual disinflation rate doubles—from 15% to 30%. The votes were distributed as follows: 176.29 million SOL in favor, 66.19 million against, and 20.63 million abstained.
At the core of this initiative is the technical document SIMD-0550, prepared by the infrastructure company Helius. The target inflation rate of 1.5% remains unchanged, but the time horizon for reaching it shrinks from 5.7 to 2.8 years. The authors calculated that this would reduce emissions by approximately 18.9 million SOL over six years relative to the current schedule. It is important to emphasize: fees, MEV revenues, and the block reward distribution mechanism remain unchanged.
Impact on Staking Yields
The accelerated reduction in emissions will directly hit stakers' income. According to calculations, nominal yields could drop from the current 5.84% to 4.34% in the first year, then decline to 3% and 2.25% in the second and third years, respectively.
The validator economy will also undergo changes. Of the 738 operators, according to Helius estimates, two could shift from profitable or break-even to unprofitable within the first year, 13 in the second, and 30 in the third. However, these figures are not static and depend on staking volumes, fees, and other network parameters.
It is important to understand: approval of SGP-0002 is only the first step. To actually change emission parameters, SIMD-0550 must be integrated into client software and followed by a mainnet upgrade.
Divisions Among Major Players
The vote revealed serious disagreements among key ecosystem participants. Figment opposed, deploying about 17.1 million SOL, while Helius and Jupiter supported the initiative. Notably, Kraken's position underwent a metamorphosis: initially, the exchange directed votes against, but in the final tally, over 90% of its 8.9 million SOL were in favor. Arjun Sethi, CEO of Kraken, explained this by the principle of custodian neutrality, stating: "Custodians should be conduits, not voices."
Galaxy also adjusted its tactics in the final hours, moving some votes from abstention to support. Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz ran an active campaign, reaching out to approximately 500 validators and other participants in the final hours of voting.
Other Decisions and Rejected Initiatives
In parallel, participants approved SGP-0001—the "Solana Constitution"—which establishes the rules for on-chain governance. It received 193.65 million SOL in favor (about 86%). However, proposal SGP-0003 on fee restructuring did not pass: 142.84 million in favor, 50.15 million against, and 72.03 million abstained. The mechanism, which proposed splitting fees into a base portion and a burnable variable component, could have increased daily SOL burning from 650 to 7,500–9,000 coins.
My analysis: the decision on SGP-0002 is a bold but risky step. On one hand, accelerated disinflation enhances SOL's long-term appeal as an asset. On the other, pressure on staking yields could trigger capital outflows and destabilize the network in the short term. The market will closely watch validator reactions and staking dynamics in the coming quarters.