Galaxy Research unveiled a proposal Thursday to overhaul Solana's voting methodology after previous attempts to reach consensus on reducing token inflation rates failed. The proposal, called "Multiple Election Stake-Weight Aggregation" (MESA), would allow validators to vote across a spectrum of deflation options rather than forcing binary choices.
What to Know:
- The proposal replaces yes/no voting with a system allowing validators to allocate votes across multiple deflation rates
- Galaxy Research designed MESA after a previous proposal (SIMD-228) showed community support for reducing inflation but failed to reach consensus
- Solana's current inflation rate stands at 4.6%, with nearly 65% of its total supply currently staked
The research firm described the proposal as "a more market-based approach to agreeing on the rate of future SOL emissions" for Solana's native token. Under current mechanisms, Solana's annual inflation begins at 8% and decreases by 15% yearly until reaching a terminal rate of 1.5%.
"Instead of cycling through inflation reduction proposals until one passes, what if validators could allocate their votes to one or many changes, with the aggregate of 'yes' outcomes becoming the adopted emissions curve?" Galaxy explained in the April 17 proposal.
How the New Voting System Works
MESA emerged in response to the failed SIMD-228 proposal, which attempted to transition Solana from a fixed inflation schedule to a dynamic, market-based model. While community members broadly agreed inflation should be reduced, the binary voting structure couldn't establish consensus around specific parameters.
The new approach maintains Solana's fixed terminal inflation rate of 1.5% but creates multiple voting options with different deflation rates.
After voting concludes, an average is calculated from the allocated votes, provided a quorum is reached.
Galaxy illustrated this with an example: if 5% of validators vote for the status quo (15% deflation rate), 50% vote for a 30% deflation rate, and 45% vote for 33% deflation, the resulting new rate would be 30.6% after aggregation. This weighted average becomes the network's new deflation trajectory.
The firm emphasized that their goal is to "suggest a genuinely alternative process to achieving what we believe is the community's broad goal, and not necessarily proscribe any particular inflation rate outcome."
According to Solana Compass data, approximately 387 million SOL tokens—representing 64.7% of the total supply—are currently staked on the network. The system's current inflation rate stands at 4.6%.
One notable disclosure in the proposal documentation reveals that Galaxy affiliate Galaxy Strategic Opportunities provides staking and validation services for Solana, indicating potential interest in the governance outcome.
Benefits of Market-Driven Approach
The proposed system offers significant advantages over binary voting mechanisms, according to Galaxy Research. By allowing validators to express preferences along a spectrum rather than through yes/no choices, the process becomes more nuanced while still maintaining predictability through a fixed inflation curve.
The MESA system aims to resolve the governance deadlock that has prevented inflation adjustments despite broad community agreement on the need for changes. By aggregating preferences rather than requiring majority consensus on a single option, the proposal potentially offers a path forward.
If implemented, the system would represent a significant evolution in on-chain governance for major blockchain networks. The approach could theoretically reduce governance friction while still reflecting stakeholder preferences in protocol parameters.
Final Thoughts
Galaxy Research's MESA proposal represents an innovative attempt to break the governance stalemate around Solana's inflation rate. By replacing binary voting with a preference-aggregation system, the proposal aims to implement community-desired inflation reductions while avoiding the consensus gridlock that has stalled previous efforts.