Winding down the Firedancer Delegation Program

Back in June we launched the Firedancer Delegation Program to support validators running the Frankendancer version of Firedancer. Running early software always comes with risk, and in this case bugs could be especially costly. The program provided a special delegation to offset that risk and encourage early adoption.

Over the past few months, the program has done its job. Nearly 200 validators now run Frankendancer on mainnet-beta, which gives the Firedancer team valuable feedback, puts the client through real-world stress tests, and builds confidence in its stability and performance.

With Firedancer maturing and the network benefiting from these efforts, it’s time to wind the program down. The temporary delegations are no longer needed, and the lessons learned will carry into the next stage of Firedancer development.

The wind down will begin in October. Delegations will be removed in the order they were granted. Operators who received delegations more recently can expect them to remain in place for about three months from the time they were assigned.

As new opportunities arise, whether to test major features, support adoption during critical phases, or help operators through high-risk transitions, we may bring the program back. As always, priority will go to the operators who contribute the most and help move Firedancer and Solana forward.