The Solana Constitution: Multicoin Capital (Tushar Jain), Jito (Nick Almond)

Solana is about to undergo its most significant governance transformation yet. At Breakpoint 2025, Tushar Jain of Multicoin Capital and Nick Almond from Jito unveiled a comprehensive new governance framework, including a proposed Solana Constitution and a revolutionary voting mechanism called "staker override" — a new form of democracy that could reshape how decentralized networks make decisions.

Summary

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The announcement comes in the wake of SIMD 7228, described as "the biggest governance event in the history of crypto," which saw tens of billions of dollars worth of SOL participate in voting on an inflation reduction proposal. While the vote didn't pass as its sponsor Tushar Jain had hoped, it revealed critical gaps in Solana's governance structure that needed addressing.

The new framework introduces two major components: the Solana Constitution, a document establishing clear guidelines for what needs to be voted on, who votes, and when; and a new voting application featuring the staker override mechanism. This allows individual stakers to override their validators' votes on any proposal, solving what Jain calls "the principal agent problem" inherent in representative democracy systems.

The Constitution introduces a new category of proposals called Solana Governance Proposals (SGPs), which are distinct from the existing Solana Improvement Documents (SIMDs). While SIMDs continue to handle technical specifications and sail through without formal voting, SGPs are reserved for "systemic" changes to the network and require community voting. The system includes an escalation mechanism where 15% of stake can force any proposal to become an SGP if the community deems it significant enough.

Nick Almond provided historical context, arguing that governance innovations have been the true drivers of civilizational progress — from Egyptian pyramids to Athenian democracy to Roman infrastructure to modern corporations. He positioned blockchain governance as potentially the next great leap, suggesting that traditional governance systems are beginning to fail and new models are urgently needed.

Key Points:

Staker Override: A New Form of Democracy

The staker override mechanism represents what Jain describes as "representative democracy with voter override." Under this system, stakers delegate their voting power to validators by default, but retain the ability to override those votes on any specific proposal. If a validator votes "yes" on a proposal but a staker disagrees, that staker can override with their percentage of the total stake.

This addresses a fundamental challenge in delegated proof-of-stake systems where token holders must trust their chosen validators to vote in their interests. The override capability ensures that ultimate control remains with the stakers themselves, while still benefiting from the expertise and attention validators bring to complex technical proposals.

The Distinction Between SGPs and SIMDs

The new governance structure creates a clear separation between technical improvements and systemic changes. Solana Improvement Documents (SIMDs) continue as they always have — technical specifications that go through peer review without formal voting. This ensures that routine upgrades and optimizations don't get bogged down in governance processes.

Solana Governance Proposals (SGPs), however, are reserved for changes that materially affect the network's economics, involve consensus-breaking modifications, or represent major architectural shifts like the upcoming Alpenglow protocol. The key innovation is that the community itself determines what qualifies as "systemic" through the escalation mechanism, rather than relying on a predetermined definition.

The Escalation Mechanism

The system is designed to be permissionless and prevent voter fatigue. Most proposals will sail through as SIMDs without requiring a vote. However, if validators representing 15% of stake believe a proposal deserves broader community input, they can elevate it to an SGP status, triggering the formal voting process.

This creates a veto-style governance model where the strongest signal comes from reaching quorum (33% participation) with a supermajority. If a proposal fails to reach quorum, it's interpreted as community indifference rather than rejection, allowing technical progress to continue unimpeded.

The Voting Process and Timeline

Once a proposal is elevated to SGP status, an on-chain mechanism is triggered. The process includes a 10-epoch discussion period, followed by a snapshot taken using Jito's decentralized snapshotting technology (NCN). This calculates everyone's stake at a specific slot, ensuring fair representation.

After the snapshot, a three-epoch voting window opens where validators vote and stakers can override. The process concludes with finalization, delivering a clear mandate based on whether quorum was achieved and what level of support was demonstrated.

Historical Context for Governance Innovation

Nick Almond made a compelling case that governance, not just technology, has driven humanity's greatest achievements. The Egyptians' pyramids required organizational governance to coordinate labor at scale. Athenian democracy created the civic participation that led to flourishing arts and sciences. Roman governance enabled continent-wide infrastructure. The joint-stock company enabled the industrial revolution.

Almond argued that while the internet has radically connected humanity communicationally, and blockchains are doing the same with value, we haven't yet developed governance systems suited to this new era. The Solana Constitution represents an attempt to pioneer information-age governance systems to replace enlightenment-era models designed for a pre-digital world.

Facts + Figures

• SIMD 7228 was the biggest governance event in crypto history, with tens of billions of dollars of SOL participating in voting

• The new voting app featuring staker override will launch in Q1 2025

• The first vote (SGP-1) will be ratification of the Solana Constitution itself

• 15% of stake is required to escalate any proposal to systemic status and force a vote

• The discussion period for proposals is 10 epochs

• The voting window is currently set at 3 epochs (subject to community input)

• Quorum threshold is set at 33% stake participation

• Supermajority approval is required for the strongest mandate

• The snapshotting mechanism uses Jito's NCN (Node Consensus Network) technology

• SGP-2 may address governance changes hinted at by Mert, a prominent community figure

• The Constitution was developed through extensive consultation with validators and core developers, beginning at Accelerate

Top quotes

"SIMD 7228 was the biggest governance event in the history of crypto in terms of the amount of voting and engagement."

"This is representative democracy with voter override. I think it's going to be extremely powerful."

"Leaps in governance have created wonders. And I mean that literally."

"Governance is how you organize people at scale. And it's how you create wonders."

"We've now radically connected to every person on the planet, communicationally. And now blockchains do this with value. But the interesting point is that we don't have the governance system of the internet yet."

"Traditional governance is starting to collapse, starting to fail. And we need new ideas."

"I truly believe that the next great leap in governance is going to come from the world of decentralized systems."

"Ultimately, stakers control the network."

"We don't want to slow Core Devs down."

"We're using enlightenment age, 1700s based governance systems across the world today. And we no longer live in that era."

Questions Answered

What is staker override and why does it matter?

Staker override is a new governance mechanism that allows individual token holders to override their validator's vote on any proposal. In traditional delegated proof-of-stake systems, when you stake your tokens with a validator, you're essentially giving them your voting power. With staker override, you retain ultimate control — if your validator votes yes on something you disagree with, you can flip that vote to no for your portion of the stake. This solves the "principal agent problem" where representatives might not always act in their constituents' best interests.

What's the difference between a SIMD and an SGP?

SIMDs (Solana Improvement Documents) are technical specifications for proposed network updates that go through peer review without requiring a formal vote. They're designed to keep development moving quickly without bureaucratic overhead. SGPs (Solana Governance Proposals) are reserved for systemic changes — things that materially alter the network's economics or consensus mechanism. SGPs require formal voting with discussion periods and defined approval thresholds. Any SIMD can be escalated to an SGP if 15% of stake deems it significant enough.

How do proposals get elevated to require a vote?

The escalation mechanism is completely permissionless. Validators representing 15% of total stake can collectively elevate any proposal from SIMD status to SGP status. This prevents technical changes from sneaking through without community oversight while avoiding voter fatigue on routine updates. The threshold is low enough to capture genuinely contentious changes but high enough to filter out minor disagreements.

What happens if a vote doesn't reach quorum?

If a proposal fails to reach the 33% quorum threshold, it's treated as "quorum failure" and interpreted as community indifference rather than rejection. This design choice allows technical progress to continue unimpeded when the broader community doesn't have strong feelings about a particular change. The strongest mandate comes from exceeding quorum with a supermajority — that's the clearest signal that the community actively supports a change.

When will this new governance system go into effect?

The new voting application will launch in Q1 2025. The first proposal under the new system (SGP-1) will be the ratification of the Solana Constitution itself. This means the community will vote on whether to adopt this entire governance framework using the very mechanisms it proposes. If ratified, subsequent proposals like the governance changes hinted at by community member Mert could become SGP-2.

Why is blockchain governance innovation important beyond crypto?

According to the presentation, humanity's greatest achievements — from pyramids to democracy to industrial corporations — were enabled by governance innovations, not just technological ones. Traditional governance systems designed in the 1700s are increasingly inadequate for the internet age. Blockchain networks like Solana serve as experimental grounds for new governance models that could eventually influence how all of society organizes itself. The staker override mechanism, for instance, represents a form of democracy that wasn't technically possible before digital systems.