Key Takeaways:
➤ Galaxy Research proposes a new consensus method called MESA to address Solana’s inflation issues➤ The proposal would accelerate the timeline to reach Solana’s target 1.5% terminal inflation rate
➤ MESA allows validators to vote on multiple deflation rate options rather than a single yes/no decision
➤ The new approach calculates a weighted average from validator preferences
➤ This proposal follows a failed governance vote in March 2025 that highlighted consensus challenges
A Fresh Approach to a Contentious Issue
Galaxy Research has introduced a potential breakthrough in the ongoing Solana inflation debate. On April 17, the research firm submitted a proposal featuring a novel approach called Multiple Election Stake-Weight Aggregation (MESA) designed to reform how the network makes decisions about SOL’s emission curve.
The timing couldn’t be more critical. Solana’s annualized inflation rate jumped 30.5% following the implementation of SIMD-96 in May 2024, which redirected priority fees to validators instead of burning them. This change dramatically reduced the daily SOL burn from approximately 18,000 to just 1,000 tokens.
Why Traditional Governance Failed
The Solana community has struggled to reach consensus on inflation adjustments despite broad agreement that current rates exceed what’s necessary. This became evident when SIMD-228, which proposed dynamic inflation adjustments based on staking participation, failed to pass in March 2025 despite receiving 56.39% approval (short of the required 66.67% threshold).
Following that unsuccessful vote, industry leaders highlighted the system’s shortcomings. Helius Labs CEO Mert Müntaz pointed out the need for improved governance tools, while Solana Labs co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko emphasized the importance of active validator participation in these decisions.
How MESA Works: A Tiered Decision Approach
Galaxy’s MESA proposal represents a significant departure from binary voting by introducing a market-driven process with multiple options. Instead of simple yes/no choices, validators can select from predetermined deflation rates (such as 15%, 17%, 20%, and 25%).
The system works by:
- Allowing validators to allocate their stake-weighted votes across multiple options
- Calculating a weighted average from all “yes” selections if minimum thresholds are met
- Setting a fixed disinflationary trajectory based on this collective input
In one example from the proposal, if 75% of validators select the current 15% deflation rate, 50% choose a 30% rate, and 45% opt for a 33% rate, the new effective rate would be calculated at 30.6%.
Implementation Questions Remain
While the proposal outlines a promising framework, several implementation questions require community input. These include determining how granular the spectrum of voting options should be, whether to maintain existing quorum thresholds, and whether a simple weighted average is the most appropriate calculation method.
Importantly, Galaxy Research emphasizes that their proposal aims to suggest a governance framework rather than advocate for any specific inflation rate.
The Path Forward
If adopted, the MESA system would preserve predictability while giving validators more nuanced ways to express preferences in a single process. This approach could accelerate Solana’s journey to its target 1.5% terminal inflation rate, potentially shortening the timeline from the current projection of approximately 7.4 years from epoch 772.
As the Solana community continues to evolve its governance mechanisms, this proposal represents an important step toward more effective and representative decision-making for one of blockchain’s most prominent networks.