Marinade CEO: The Solana Alpenglow upgrade may lower the entry barrier for validators

ChainCatcher news, Marinade Labs CEO Michael Repetny stated that the Solana ecosystem is preparing for an upgrade by the end of this year or early 2026. Future plans include lowering the validator entry threshold after the Alpenglow upgrade, while increasing bandwidth and reducing latency.

Currently, running a Solana validator costs about $5,000 per month, with $4,000 (80%) going towards voting fees. The Alpenglow upgrade will significantly reduce these voting fees, making it more affordable for more participants to operate validator nodes.