Solana's co-founder calls the fee restructuring a 'no brainer' while developers warn of unpredictable costs and stifled innovation
Anatoly Yakovenko, the co-founder everyone calls Toly, has thrown his weight behind SGP-0003, a proposal that would fundamentally rewire how Solana charges for transactions. He called it a “no brainer yes vote” on August 25. The app builders who actually ship products on Solana have a rather different take.
The proposal introduces a fixed inclusion fee of 2,500 lamports for block leaders alongside a variable resource fee tied to compute units. The variable component starts at 1 lamport per 10 CUs but could climb as high as 1 lamport per 2 CUs depending on future evaluations.
The economics of burning tokens and building apps
Yakovenko’s pitch centers on one reassuring claim: the new fee structure should keep SOL burn rates roughly in line with current levels. A portion of the restructured fees would be burned, theoretically reducing supply pressure on SOL over time.
BlueShift, Firedancer Development, and Hylo have all signaled support for SGP-0003. Critics have labeled the proposal “yolo economics,” a term that captures their fear of unpredictable cost escalation. Some DeFi entities have voiced opposition specifically around timing, arguing that the ecosystem is still maturing and that imposing a new fee regime now could discourage experimentation.
Governance growing pains
SGP-0003 is part of Solana’s first foray into on-chain governance, replacing the traditionally off-chain decision-making process that has guided the network since its inception. Voting opened on August 23, and the proposal needs at least one-third of validators to participate for it to reach quorum.
As of August 25, the proposal had roughly 13-14% support among validators. Broader voting participation across related proposals sat below 17%.
What this means for the Solana ecosystem
Yakovenko’s endorsement carries significant weight, but it hasn’t translated into validator momentum yet. The gap between 13-14% participation and the 33% quorum threshold is substantial, and with opposition coming from the very builders Solana needs to retain, the proposal’s path forward looks uncertain.
