SIMD-228 Inflation Proposal Rejected as Solana Community Engages in Record-Breaking Vote

The Solana ecosystem witnessed a historic moment in crypto governance as stakeholders overwhelmingly participated in a crucial vote on inflation reform, ultimately rejecting the proposal despite its significant impact.

The SIMD-228 proposal aimed to transition Solana’s inflation system from a fixed schedule to a dynamic, market-based model. However, it failed to secure the necessary 66.67% approval, as it ended up attracting only 61.4% of participating votes in favor. While 43.6% of the total staked supply supported the reform, 27.4% voted against it, and 3.3% abstained.

Despite the proposal’s failure, the high voter turnout, over 74% of staked supply across 910 validators participated in Solana’s governance process.

SIMD-228 Ends in Defeat

Multicoin Capital co-founder Tushar Jain described the event as the largest governance vote in crypto history by both participant count and market cap involvement. The proposal sought to address concerns surrounding Solana’s current inflation mechanism, which follows a predetermined path – starting at 8% annually and gradually decreasing by 15% per year until stabilizing at 1.5%.

Proponents of SIMD-228 argued that dynamically adjusting inflation based on staking participation would optimize network security, reduce unnecessary token issuance, and encourage greater use of SOL in decentralized finance (DeFi). With Solana’s inflation rate at 4.66% and only 3% of the total supply staked, supporters believed the proposed model could help stabilize the network’s economic dynamics and make SOL more appealing to long-term holders.

However, opponents of the reform highlighted several risks, including increased complexity, potential instability from abrupt changes in staking rates, and a negative impact on smaller validators who rely on inflation rewards for sustainability.

While the proposal’s defeat means Solana’s existing inflation schedule remains in place, the vote served as a major governance stress test – one that Solana passed with high participation and strong debate.

Jain added that the vote revealed opportunities for refining the governance process and hinted at potential improvements for future proposals.

“I want to thank everyone who participated in the debate and put themselves in the public arena in service of advancing Solana governance. Public discourse is critically important and it takes a critical mass of people who really care. We ended up revising this proposal over 7 weeks on numerous occasions before it went to a final vote. That wouldn’t have been possible without the contributions of Solana’s passionate community.”

SIMD-228 Criticisms

Solana Foundation Executive Director Lily Liu had previously criticized SIMD-228, calling the proposal “too half-baked.” She argued that changes to Solana’s economics must be carefully considered, especially at this critical stage of development. The exec also criticized the dominance of network engineers in the discussion rather than asset managers, which she believed led to an imbalanced approach.

Defending Solana’s fixed-rate yields, she highlighted their predictability as a key factor for institutional investors while citing the success of Solana’s staked exchange-traded products (ETPs) in Europe as proof of stability’s importance.