Solana Introduces Onchain Governance Framework
BITmarkets Team
Jul 09, 2026
Called Solana Governance Proposals (SGPs), the framework allows validators to submit governance proposals and vote on them directly onchain. Voting power is determined by the amount of delegated Solana (SOL) stake held by each validator, the Foundation announced in a post on X. “An SGP captures a stake-weighted directional decision. It records what the community wants. It is not strictly focused on the technical detail of how to build the feature,” according to the project's GitHub repository.
The new system aims to create a more transparent and community-led governance process by separating high-level governance decisions from technical implementation proposals, known as Solana Improvement Documents (SIMDs). Several other blockchain networks, including Polkadot, Cosmos, Cardano, Tezos and Avalanche, already use similar stake-weighted governance models.
Voting requires broad validator support
Under the new framework, a governance proposal must first receive endorsements from validators representing at least 15% of actively staked SOL before it can proceed to a formal onchain vote. The threshold is intended to prevent low-quality or frivolous proposals from advancing. Only validators with at least 100,000 delegated SOL can submit new governance proposals through the SGP system. SOL holders who delegate their tokens to validators automatically participate in governance through their chosen validator.
However, the framework also introduces an additional layer of flexibility. If delegators disagree with how their validator votes, they can override that vote by casting their own vote directly on a proposal. The Solana Foundation explained that SGPs will be used for governance decisions affecting the broader ecosystem, while SIMDs will continue to focus on protocol upgrades and technical improvements. “SIMDs should focus on protocol changes, SGPs should be signals from the ecosystem,” the Foundation wrote.
Solana continues expanding its ecosystem
The governance framework is the latest initiative aimed at strengthening the Solana ecosystem. In April, the Solana Foundation partnered with Web3 security firm Asymmetric Research to launch STRIDE (Solana Trust, Resilience and Infrastructure for DeFi Enterprises), a security auditing and incident response program designed to improve the safety of Solana-based protocols. According to the Foundation, STRIDE provides a structured approach to evaluating, monitoring and responding to security risks across decentralized finance projects built on Solana.
The network also remains one of the largest blockchain ecosystems by value locked. According to DefiLlama, Solana currently ranks as the second-largest blockchain with approximately $4.92 billion in total value locked (TVL), behind Ethereum’s $37.3 billion. Over the past 24 hours, the network also generated more than $587,000 in blockchain fees.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/solana-foundation-framework-protocol-governance
https://github.com/solana-foundation/solana-governance-proposals
