Solflare Validator Stops Generating Rewards After Security Incident at External Operator ...

The validator operated by Solflare, the company behind a Solana (SOL)-compatible cryptocurrency wallet, is currently not generating staking rewards. On the 28th, the company said on its official X account that it had received notice from the staking operator to which it outsources validator operations of a security incident affecting the keys it holds for that validator. The operator is reportedly still investigating.

Even amid the situation, SOL that users have delegated through staking is held not by the validator but in users' own stake accounts, managed solely by users' keys. Solflare explained that under Solana's protocol specifications, even the validator or whoever holds its keys cannot move this SOL, and that no damage to user funds has occurred. It has been confirmed that the reward stoppage is not caused by a defect in the wallet software or the Solana protocol itself, but stems purely from a security incident on the side of an external infrastructure operator.

The company has stated a policy of switching to a new validator, which will require moving users' stakes as well. Rewards are expected not to accrue until operations become effective on the new validator. At this point no action is required from users, and the company plans to enable migration through a safe procedure via an app update to be distributed soon.

For the migration, Solflare is preparing a compensation plan for all affected users. It said the migration work will be carried out only within the Solflare app, and explicitly stated that it will not send direct messages or links. It plans to announce the release of the app update on its official X account.

On Solana, validators earn rewards by processing transactions and participating in consensus, and users who delegate stake receive a proportional of those rewards. If a validator stops generating rewards, delegators also stop earning rewards for that period. However, an interruption in rewards is different from a loss of staked funds; delegated SOL remains under the delegator's control. Rewards not earned during the stoppage period will not be retroactively compensated later. The financial impact on individual users varies depending on the length of the stoppage and the amount staked.

At this point, three things remain undisclosed: the name of the affected infrastructure operator, the technical method of the incident, and when validator operations will fully recover. It is also unclear whether other validators using the same operator have been affected. For now, the key information for users to base decisions on will be Solflare's official announcement confirming the resumption of validator operations and the normalization of reward generation.

Regulatory and supervisory scrutiny of cryptocurrency infrastructure operators is intensifying in multiple jurisdictions, and risk management in operations continues to be put to the test. Investors using staking services are advised to directly check the status of the validator they delegate to via apps or block explorers, and to follow the situation to resolution through official announcements.