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The full version of Firedancer - a high-performance rewrite of Solana's validation program authored by Jump Crypto - may still exist A ways away. But in the meantime, Solana auditors can still use a limited version of the client called Frankendancer.

Frankendancer was created by taking the Jump agent Agave, which hails from the original Solana Labs software, and gradually replacing parts of it to create a new agent that resembles Frankenstein's monster. Frankendancer I went to Solana mainnet in September During Solana's Breakpoint conference, but since then, it has been in limited demand.

So far, 12 validators controlling nearly 5.4 million SOL backlogs are running Frankendancer, according to Data From the verification rule. This is out of 392 million SOLs in existence, according to Solana Compass.

“The main reason most validators aren't running yet is that they don't capture MEV efficiently,” Timeline engineering partner Ben Coverston told me.

Maximum Extractable Value, or MEV, is the process of adding, removing, or rearranging transactions in a block to extract additional value. Many Solana validators pick up MEV by running the Jito-Solana client, a version of the Agave client with MEV modifications attached.

MEV is very profitable for Solana auditors. About 25% of validator stake rewards – which can be thought of as the revenue a validator generates by running Solana – currently comes from MEV, According to To the Dune dashboard. Approximately 65% ​​of the rewards come from SOL issuance, and 10% come from fees.

Coverstone added that it's not impossible to get an MEV without Jito, but it's certainly more difficult, so any validators who want to run a Frankendancer will likely be looking for a lower return on their investment.

This doesn't mean there's no reason to run a Frankendancer. Phase Labs announced today that its validator has been upgraded to the Frankendancer client, calling the software “the next leap forward” for Solana.

Phase's Aeropool stake set He specifically said Its stake delegation strategy is to empower Solana's positive shareholders rather than just chase the highest APY.

Most auditors don't share this strategy — over 93% of auditors at Solana currently is used Geto Solana. On the testnet, they might start to see some pressure to try out Frankendancer but: Solana developer Anza has it to speak About to start pushing for a super majority share of Frankendancer on the testnet next week.

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