Solana active validators drop below 800, lowest daily count since 2021

As of January 28 2026, Solana's active validator count has reportedly fallen below 800, down sharply from around 2,500 in early 2023. Over the same period, daily vote transactions, a proxy for validator participation, have declined by about 40%. The Solana Foundation's pruning policy and reduced subsidies have pushed out many smaller or underperforming validators, raising debate over decentralization versus network performance.