Timely Vote Credits Are Now Live on Solana: What It Means for Validators

Solana has officially activated Timely Vote Credits (TVC), a new consensus mechanism aimed at reducing block confirmation times and enhancing validator performance. Initially proposed in September 2022 and approved by governance in April 2024, the feature is now fully operational on the Solana blockchain.

What Are Timely Vote Credits?

According to a blog post by Anza, a leading Solana-focused software development firm, TVC incentivizes validators to submit their votes for consensus promptly, directly impacting their earned rewards. Previously, validators received equal rewards for all correct votes submitted within a 2.5-minute window, which allowed delayed voting to go unpunished.

Under TVC, validators earn credits based on how quickly they submit their votes after block production. Votes included within the first two slots (approximately 1 second) earn the maximum 16 credits, with credits gradually decreasing for each additional slot.

Enhancing Network Efficiency

The implementation of TVC aims to:

• Reduce Latency: Faster vote submissions will improve block confirmation times.
• Encourage Optimizations: Validators may upgrade hardware and configurations to maintain competitive performance.
• Mitigate Harmful Practices: The system discourages delayed voting and ensures more robust consensus participation.

Addressing Validator Concerns

Anza notes that some validators have expressed concerns about potential latency issues, especially for those in geographically remote locations. Developers have proposed potential adjustments, such as extending the two-slot grace period, to address these concerns while maintaining the system’s efficiency.

TVC Now Live on Solana

Earlier today, Ashwin.sol, an engineer at Anza, shared on 𝕏 that TVC is now officially live on the Solana network, signaling the successful deployment of the new feature. Validators are encouraged to track their performance using tools like the Vortex dashboard to optimize their infrastructure.