Validator Referral Program

Validators 🥩
#1

Overview

The Solana Mainnet Beta network is currently supported by 180 independent validators and can host network throughput of up to 50k TPS with sub-second confirmation times. The Solana Foundation wants to do better.

The data propagation design of the Solana protocol suggests that we should be able to scale to a much larger validator set, with minimal (log(N_{\text{nodes}})) impact on performance. With a larger validator set comes more security, decentralization and censorship resistance. The Solana Foundation is dedicated to help develop the most decentralized and performant network out there. To help reach this goal, the Solana Foundation is happy to announce the Solana Validator Referral Program.

The Program

The Solana Foundation will reimburse up to $750 (in SOL) of hardware upgrades for referrals of new validators to the network.

How Does it Work?

  • During KYC process, the new validator provides the discord name of the validator that referred them to Solana.
  • Referred validator must also have previously completed the KYC process.
  • After the new validator has met the requirements and has been onboarded to mainnet beta, the referring validator can redeem up to $750 in locked SOL of the cost of hardware upgrades for their validator system (verified by submission the purchase receipt of the hardware, receipts should be send to validator.referrals@solana.foundation)

Also, due to the risk of validators referring sybil nodes (i.e. a single entity spinning up multiple nodes) and claiming the hardware rebate, the Solana Foundation retains the right to remove any participants from the Mainnet Beta compensation program if they are suspected of this behavior.

Terms and Conditions:

The close of the program will be announced by the Solana Foundation in advance. All submissions delivered prior to the close of the event will be considered for compensation. Payments will be made by transfer of locked SOL from the Solana Foundation. The amount of SOL will be based on the closing SOL<>USDT price, quoted on FTX, on the last day of the calendar month in which the receipt of the approved referral was received. Qualifying participants will be assessed on a monthly basis and payments will be distributed similarly. Further terms and conditions can be found here

Note: The KYC process is not necessary to validate on Mainnet Beta. It is only required for compensation of these services by the Solana Foundation and for participation in this referral program.

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#2

how does this work?

for example i have a friend that it,s on Testnet since TDS1 …but i dont think he got a second server for MB … is it ok i recommend him to MB …and if he manage to buy a server for MB …i will receive 750$ in SOL to upgrade my MB server ? am i right?
receipts for upgrade should be send to validator.referrals@solana.foundation right? and after that i can reedem the SOL . the quantity of SOL will be locked or unlocked?
Thanks

#3

This would be for referring new validators into TdS. If your friend is already on TdS, they have already started the process of onboarding onto Mainnet-beta.

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#4

" * During KYC process, the new validator provides the discord name of the validator that referred them to Solana."

So, this is only valid for Tds 9 onwards then? Also, where exactly do we fill this info, will it be via KYC on Coinlist? @eric

#5

what is the lock period of SOL?
Can one person refer 2 or more and get reimbursement for say $1500?
Also can multiple reimbursements be for a single Machine?

I know a couple of friends who might be willing to join and help get me some new HW :slight_smile:

#6

We’re starting it from now going forward. If you have a way to refer new validators onto the network, the Foundation will reimburse any hardware upgrades for you up to $750 per referral

#7

Yeah, this should start with TdS 9. The Discord info would be filled out in the first step of the registration process: https://solana.com/validator-registration

#8

Can we buy the hardware now and later give you receipts for the money?

I am thinking to create a custom Gaming Machine and use it for the validator. Is that covered?

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#9

Hi guys!
There is one good idea. In general, there are not so many validators in the mainnet now. Someone has been on the mainnet for quite a long time. Due to the lack of their normal hardware, many are forced to sit on rented servers. Someone has the opportunity to install hardware on their own, but they haven’t distributed revards without locks yet. At the moment, we have to spend our money on renting someone else’s hardware😢 Therefore, a critical moment will come when either the network will get up from the load, or a bunch of validators will start to fall off.
Now the team can go ahead of possible failures.
Therefore, I suggest that the team consider the option of issuing grants for hardware without locks in the equivalent of about $ 4000. Enough for normal equipment.
The selection criteria are as follows:

  1. Your SOLs are already stuck in the mainnet
  2. Has the ability to keep equipment
  3. I am ready to talk with representatives of the zoom team, sign an agreement on the targeted use of funds, report on the purchased hardware and naturally launch the minet on this hardware.
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