Leading Web3 security company Certora launches Solana verifier and joins the Foundation Delegation Program

Certora, a leading blockchain security company responsible for protecting billions of dollars in DeFi TVL, has joined the Solana Foundation Delegation Program and launched its own validator. This marks a significant expansion of Certora's role within the Solana network. This decision places Certora directly at the operational layer of the network. Certora is no longer limited to auditing and tool development, but is now applying its security expertise to the ongoing work of ensuring transaction safety and maintaining network health.

This move positions Certora as a long-term, security-focused contributor whose interests align with the goals of the Delegation Program: to strengthen decentralization, increase reliability, and maintain high network performance. By operating highly reliable validator nodes, Certora translates theoretical security principles into measurable infrastructure outcomes.

Translating Security Expertise into Network Operations

Certora has built a reputation by applying formal verification and adversarial testing to some of the most complex systems in the Web3 space. Its collaborations with protocols such as Jito, Aave, Lido, Polygon, Ethos, and other major ecosystems reflect a philosophy of preventing failures before deployment rather than passively responding after incidents occur. Running a validator extends this philosophy to real-time network operations.

The risks introduced by running a validator are fundamentally different from those in smart contract development. Operators must manage hardware reliability, network connectivity, software upgrades, and real-time incident response. Certora approaches these challenges with the same rigor it applies to protocol security.

“Our participation in the Solana Foundation Delegation Program is a natural extension of our mission to enhance the resilience and security of Web3. We will leverage our security-first operational experience to strengthen Solana’s infrastructure, following the best practices we recommend to clients through our operational services. By running highly reliable validators, Certora actively supports the Solana Foundation’s mission to increase the decentralization, adoption, and security of the Solana ecosystem.” - Certora CEO Seth Hallem

Alignment with the Delegation Program’s Goals

The Solana Foundation Delegation Program aims to support active contributors and developers with deep understanding of the network’s technical and economic dynamics. The program’s goals are to maximize decentralization, reliability, and performance, expand the number of validators with diverse staking sources, and maintain a large and representative testnet.

A reduction in the number of validator nodes increases the theoretical risks to decentralization and censorship resistance. Fewer operating nodes enhance the influence of large validators and reduce the security margin against collusive failures or malicious actions. The Delegation Program aims to counter these trends by making it easier and more sustainable for technically capable teams with long-term commitments to participate and operate validator nodes.

Infrastructure Choices and Operational Discipline

Certora’s deep involvement with the Solana network is built on years of collaboration with native Solana teams. The company has provided security services for Solana, Jito, Squads, Gods Unchained, Light Protocol, and Fluid, among others. These relationships have provided real-world validation for Certora’s operational norms and technical standards.

Certora has deployed its mainnet and testnet validators on Latitude.sh using bare-metal infrastructure, prioritizing performance stability and network connectivity. The mainnet validator node is located in Amsterdam, while the testnet validator node is in Chicago. According to Certora Security Labs VP Elad Erdheim, the team conducted extensive testing across different locations prior to final deployment to assess latency, bandwidth, and reliability.

The validator stack reflects meticulous design in hardware selection, software configuration, and monitoring. Certora provides 24/7 on-call service to respond to emergencies and network failures. This operational model is consistent with the standards the company recommends to clients through its operational security services.

A Broader Model of Long-Term Commitment

Certora’s validator launch aligns with the overall strategy of sustained investment in the Solana ecosystem. In recent years, the company has supported developers through direct security collaborations and ecosystem-wide initiatives, including participation in audit subsidy programs aimed at lowering the barrier to professional security reviews. Certora also continues to develop new tools, such as its AI-assisted smart contract development platform, which combines automated code generation with formal verification.

By joining the Solana Foundation Delegation Program and operating its own validator node, Certora is transforming from a provider of consulting and tools to a direct infrastructure manager. This move reflects Certora’s philosophy that network security depends not only on secure applications but also on resilient and well-operated validator nodes. As the Solana network continues to grow, such contributions will play a vital role in enhancing decentralization and maintaining network performance.

Why Validators Matter

Validator nodes are crucial to Solana’s operation, responsible for processing transactions, security, governance, and staking reward distribution. However, the network has seen a continuous decline in the number of active validators for more than two years, a trend that has raised concerns about decentralization and network resilience. As the number of validators decreases, stake becomes concentrated among a few operators, increasing risk: the superminority threshold (defined as the minimum number of validators theoretically able to halt or censor the network) has dropped from 34 validators in 2023 to about 20 now, intensifying debates about long-term network security and validator diversity.

In response, independent validators have begun coordinating to counter consolidation. Layer 33 is a group of 25 independent Solana validators that recently announced plans for a shared, evenly distributed stake pool aimed at reserving about one-third of total stake for independent operators. After a massive DDoS attack with peak traffic near 6 Tbps, these discussions have become even more urgent, highlighting the importance of high-quality validator nodes under stress.

While acknowledging ongoing challenges in economics and participation, Solana Foundation Executive Director Dan Albert has refuted claims of an existential validator crisis, stating that the current situation does not threaten the network’s survival.

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