Highlights from Solana Foundation's Validator Call

At Chainflow, we are dedicated to being active and supportive part of the Solana community. As part of this, we attend all regular validator calls.

Here, you will find our notes from the most recent validator call hosted by the Solana Foundation.

Testnet Updates

Testnet 2.0.8 is the current recommended version for validators to test on.
There will be a planned downgrade, upgrade, and restart cycle after the upcoming Breakpoint event before the recommendation of version 2.0 for the mainnet.

Breakpoint Event and Side Events

Breakpoint, Solana's major annual event, is 15 days away.
Validators were encouraged to purchase tickets and prepare for side events like Block Zero, Stake Pools, and MEV Day. These events are expected to focus heavily on the interests of validators and operators.
Block Zero will be particularly focused on the economics of staking and validity. Attendees should reach out to the organizers, including Michael and Brian, for further details, as there has been an overwhelming number of RSVPs.

Discussion on TVC and Client Mods

TVC were a major discussion point. Validators discussed the open-sourced mods released by Zantatsu, which included modifications such as backfilling, fork choice, and lagging adjustments.
There was a strong emphasis on ensuring validators fully understand the mods before applying them. The risks of lockouts—where a validator could be excluded from consensus for an extended period—were highlighted as one of the biggest dangers of using untested mods.
The Solana Foundation's stance on these mods was that while it's beneficial to open-source them, the mods would likely become less effective once TVC is fully implemented, and validators should tread carefully before adopting them.

Configurability of Cluster Settings

There was a conversation about the lack of configurability in certain cluster settings. Several participants, including Tim and Ben, expressed a desire to see more settings become configurable through validator governance. Account values for settings were also suggested as an improvement.

Filtering of Front-Running Transactions

The idea of filtering front-running transactions came up, with Nika raising concerns about the legality and practicalities of doing so.
Lucas mentioned that efforts had been made earlier in the year to filter such transactions, but it turned into a cat-and-mouse game where traders quickly adapted their strategies to bypass the filters.
Uri discussed Paladin, a system developed for filtering front-running transactions, and offered to share it with interested validators. However, it has not been fully open-sourced yet.

Action Items Recap

Validators were encouraged to stay updated on timely vote credits and the mods.
Several action items were assigned to specific participants, such as purchasing tickets for Breakpoint, coordinating event logistics, clarifying mod-related risks, and holding offline discussions about front-running filters.

Final Remarks

The meeting concluded with a reminder to prepare for Breakpoint and the next validator meeting, scheduled for October. Participants were encouraged to reach out for any additional information or discussions on the topics raised.