Solana Faces New Scaling Proposal That Could Transform Validator Economics
According to Incrypted, Jump Crypto submitted proposal SIMD-0370 on September 27, 2025. The proposal seeks to eliminate Solana's fixed compute unit block limit. Jump Crypto develops the Firedancer validator client for Solana. The team presented this initiative after the network approved the Alpenglow protocol upgrade.
Solana currently caps each block at 60 million compute units. CoinDesk reports that SIMD-0286, proposed earlier in May 2025, suggested raising this limit to 100 million units. The new SIMD-0370 proposal goes further by removing the cap entirely. Block producers would pack maximum transactions based on validator hardware capacity. Validators unable to process blocks in time would skip them.
Research firm Anza explained the mechanism creates a performance cycle. Block producers earn more fees by including more transactions. Validators who miss blocks lose rewards and must upgrade equipment. Better network performance allows producers to push boundaries further. Testing for Alpenglow begins in December 2025. Implementation of SIMD-0370 would follow after Alpenglow deploys to mainnet in early 2026.
Why This Matters
The proposal directly affects how validators compete and earn revenue on Solana. Removing the block limit allows high-performance validators to process more transactions and capture greater fee income. Validators with outdated hardware face reduced profitability. They must either invest in upgrades or risk falling behind competitors.
CryptoNews notes that this creates market-driven incentives for continuous hardware improvements. Validators running slower client software would see diminished returns. The proposal encourages rapid adoption of performance enhancements across the ecosystem. Users could benefit from reduced congestion during high-demand periods like token launches or trading spikes.
The timing aligns with institutional interest in Solana. Seven major asset managers filed updated S-1 forms for Solana ETFs in late September 2025. REX-Osprey Solana Staking ETF launched with 12 million dollars in first-day inflows. Dynamic block sizing could strengthen Solana's appeal to institutions seeking high-throughput blockchain infrastructure.
Industry Implications
This proposal represents a fundamental shift from Ethereum's fee auction model and Bitcoin's fixed block sizes. Solana would adopt capacity scaling based purely on validator performance rather than protocol-defined limits. According to The Defiant, the combined effect of Alpenglow and unlimited blocks could position Solana ahead of competing layer-1 networks.
Alpenglow passed with 98.27 percent validator approval in September 2025. The upgrade slashes transaction finality from 12.8 seconds to 150 milliseconds. When paired with SIMD-0370, Solana could process blocks at speeds matching traditional payment rails. Competing networks like Sui offer 400 millisecond finality. Base implemented Flashblocks to reduce block times to 200 milliseconds in July 2025.
Critics warn about centralization risks. Engineer Achilesh Singania stated in GitHub comments that large validators could dominate by continuously upgrading equipment. Smaller validators unable to afford hardware improvements might exit the market. The network could consolidate around fewer but more powerful validators. Supporters counter that client diversity through Firedancer mitigates single points of failure. Firedancer already operates on mainnet in hybrid mode since September 2024.
Further Reading
For those interested in decentralized governance tools and validator management, our comprehensive DAO tooling guide provides detailed analysis of over 100 platforms. The guide covers tools used for proposal voting, treasury management, and validator coordination in decentralized networks.
