Solana Fee Vote: Resource Charging Proposal Under Review

Solana (SOL) is conducting an on-chain vote regarding a proposal to shift transaction fees from a signature-based model to a resource-based model. Regardless of the vote's outcome, the accuracy with which wallets, routers, and trading apps request computational resources has emerged as a cost issue.

The Solana improvement document SIMD-0553 outlines a plan to divide the current fee of 5000 lamports per signature into a base fee of 2500 lamports and a resource fee based on requested resources. The resource fee is calculated in proportion to the requested_cost_units and is fully burned. The priority fee remains as the validator's share, as before.

The official Solana fee document currently describes the base fee as 5000 lamports per signature, half of which is burned and half returned to validators. The compute budget document explains that the priority fee is calculated based on the requested compute unit limit rather than actual consumption.

The core of this proposal is not merely a fee increase. It aims to more accurately reflect the resources required by transactions in the network's pricing structure. Until now, the base fee has primarily operated around signature verification costs, but the new proposal includes charging criteria for write locks, command data, program execution, and account data size.

Requested_cost_units refer to the resource cost units requested before executing a transaction. The basis is not the actual resources used but the values requested in advance. Apps that set a generous compute budget may face higher costs under the new structure.

The proposal suggests a feature gate structure that raises the resource fee rate in increments of 1/10, 1/4, and 1/2 lamports. This design is based on phased activation rather than applying the final rate all at once. However, the adoption of the document does not immediately imply application to the mainnet.

Crypto Briefing reported in a simulation that the daily SOL burn amount based on the final rate could increase from approximately 648 SOL to a range of 1500 to 9000 SOL. The same report suggested that high-load apps and routers like Jupiter, Titan, and DFlow might face average fee increase pressures. This figure is an estimate based on models, not observational data.

The precision with which each app sets its requests can create differences. Router-type applications often handle multiple transaction paths and accounts simultaneously, potentially increasing the scale of requested resources. Conversely, efficient vote transactions may incur lower costs under the new structure, according to some analyses.

Solana Company stated on August 21 that it opposes SGP-0003. The company believes that a fixed fee structure makes it easier for institutional users to budget. It explained that making transaction costs variable before the ecosystem adapts shifts estimation risks to users and operators.

This discussion intertwines the technical document SIMD-0553 and the governance proposal SGP-0003. SIMD addresses the fee calculation method itself, while SGP serves as an on-chain signal vote questioning whether the network will move in that direction. The Solana governance document explains that SGP will move to the voting stage if it receives 15% support from active stakers.

The Solana developer update announced on July 23 that the Resource and Inclusion Fees SIMD had been accepted. This indicates document adoption but does not confirm the timing for mainnet activation or feature gate application. Validator Info marks SGP-0003 as in a Voting state.

The end time for the vote has been presented differently in various public documents. Some sources indicated a deadline of 00:30 KST on the 27th, while others noted the 27th or 28th. As of the article's writing, it is difficult to confirm a single end date.

This vote continues the coverage of Solana validators casting votes on governance issues that address both the speed of new issuance and the fee structure. Previously, we reported that Solana validators were voting on governance issues that simultaneously address the speed of new issuance and the fee structure.

Solana Company announced on August 21 that it supports SGP-0001 and opposes SGP-0003. The debate centers not on the necessity of changing the network's economic structure but on the timing and predictability of costs.

The actual user costs and app-specific adjustment ranges will emerge after the voting results, feature gate application, and wallet/SDK updates. What has been confirmed at this stage is that Solana is questioning through on-chain procedures whether it will maintain its advantage of low fees while reflecting more costs for transactions that request more resources.

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