Lido on Solana, developed with the teams from P2P Validator and Chorus One, is a liquid staking solution for SOL. For more detail: https://blog.lido.fi/new-era-for-lido-on-solana/
Interested in becoming a Lido Node Operator?
Click to see which networks are currently onboarding new operators:
Lido on Solana Operator Procedures
Onboarding rounds are opened on an ad hoc basis to balance decentralization, node operator profitability, and the overall security of Lido's liquid staking solutions. Currently the Lido on Solana operator set is permissioned (i.e. operators are chosen by the DAO to run a validator) given current smart contract constraints and Lido’s focus on maintaining a balanced set of diverse operators.
The Lido Node Operator Sub Governance group (LNOSG) periodically opens onboarding rounds to balance these aforementioned factors. To learn more about the guidelines used to assess applicants across networks please see the Node Operator Evaluation and Decision Making Criteria.
For Solana specifically, the LNOSG is willing to consider three tracks of applicants: existing mainnet operators, testnet operators, and those not currently running any nodes on Solana. For existing and testnet Solana operators, applications are filtered through a very basic set of “minimum requirements”, which are:
- Minimum 10 epochs of operation
- Your node is currently outside the super-minority set
- Minimum 500 leader slots in total in the last 10 epochs
- Minimum 1 Solana node software update
The LNOSG is also willing to consider operators who do not currently run a Solana node, but have experience on other networks and an interest in expanding to Solana. This track will require additional information from other networks to better assess the ability to run a node effectively.
In addition to the factors above, the LNOSG and Lido on Solana team consider a strategy focusing on 1. Increasing decentralization of the network (including expanding the share of stake away from the superminority) and 2. Recognizing the importance of profitability and business continuity in order to maintain a reliable set of long-term oriented operators.
Prospective Lido on Solana operators should be aware that while SOL prices remain depressed their operations may be unprofitable. The Lido on Solana P2P team have developed a public profitability calculator that is available: Solana profitability calculator.
Stake is delegated evenly across the Lido on Solana operator set. As of December 8th 2022, Lido on Solana operators may now run their Lido stake on their existing public nodes with a commission less than or equal to 5%. This means Node Operators determine how much revenue they will generate on their Lido stake based on the commission rate they choose to set (up to 5%). Commission is paid in SOL directly to the validator’s stake account, with the remaining protocol fee then sent to the DAO. For more information on the changes that took place during the migration to v2 of Lido on Solana please see this post.
The Lido forums are the best place to keep track of future onboarding announcements and other DAO discussions. If your organization is already operating validators and is interested in learning more about becoming a Lido Operator please send an email to nom@lido.fi.
