Solana Console

Inflation Schedule

Solana started with an initial inflation rate of 8%, decreasing by 15% per year (the “dis-inflation rate”). It will eventually settle at a long-term rate of 1.5%. New SOL is minted each epoch and distributed to validators and their delegators.

Validator Commission

Each validator sets a commission rate (e.g., 5% or 10%). This is the percentage of staking rewards the validator keeps before passing the rest to delegators. Lower commission means more rewards for you, but validators need income to cover infrastructure costs.

Reward Distribution

Your reward each epoch depends on: the total inflation for that epoch, your proportion of total network stake, the validator's performance (vote credits earned), and the validator's commission. Rewards compound automatically — they are added to your stake account balance.

Typical APY

Current staking APY ranges from roughly 5–8% depending on the validator's performance and commission rate. The APY Trends chart in the Charts tab lets you compare actual annualized returns across your stake accounts.

Epoch Timing

A Solana epoch is exactly 432,000 slots. At ~400ms per slot, each epoch lasts approximately 2–3 days. The Epochs tab shows a live countdown and progress bar for the current epoch.

Warmup Period

When you first delegate a stake account, it enters an “activating” state. The stake gradually becomes effective over one or more epochs. During warmup, you earn partial rewards proportional to the activated fraction. Full activation typically completes by the next epoch boundary.

Cooldown Period

When you deactivate (un-delegate) a stake, it enters a “deactivating” state. Similar to warmup, the stake gradually becomes inactive. Once fully deactivated, you can withdraw the SOL back to your wallet. This typically takes one epoch to complete.

Rent Exemption

Every stake account must maintain a minimum balance (currently ~0.00228 SOL) to be rent-exempt. This small amount is locked and cannot be staked, but is returned when the account is closed. Keep this in mind when creating many stake accounts.

Diversify Across Validators

Don't put all your SOL into a single validator. Spreading across 2–5 validators reduces your risk if one goes offline or misbehaves. It also helps decentralize the network. Use the Compare tab to track multiple wallets, and the Validators tab to compare performance.

Check Validator Performance

Look at vote credits earned per epoch — this indicates how reliably a validator participates in consensus. A delinquent validator earns zero credits and you get no rewards. The Validators tab highlights your best and worst performing validators.

Understand Commission Rates

A 0% commission validator isn't always the best choice. Validators need revenue to maintain quality infrastructure. Very low commissions can be unsustainable, leading the validator to shut down. A reasonable commission (5–10%) from a reliable validator often provides better long-term returns.

Watch for Deactivation

If your stake account shows “deactivating,” rewards will taper off. This may happen unintentionally if a validator deactivates your stake. Check the Stake Accounts table regularly. If a stake account becomes inactive, you'll need to re-delegate it to resume earning rewards.

Keep Some SOL Liquid

Always keep a small amount of SOL unstaked in your wallet for transaction fees. SOL transactions typically cost 0.000005 SOL, but you still need some liquid balance to interact with the network, pay for new stake account creation, or respond to opportunities.

Why Do Different Wallets Show Different Addresses?

Different wallet apps chose different default derivation paths. If you set up your Ledger with Solflare, your SOL is likely on the path m/44'/501'/0' (3 components). If you used Phantom, Ledger Live, or most other tools, your SOL is on m/44'/501'/0'/0' (4 components, BIP44 standard). Same seed phrase, different addresses, different balances.

Common Derivation Paths