Solana Foundation just put a 12-month clock on its validator daycare.
Updated SFDP rules took effect Nov. 6. Membership now lasts 12 months from the first epoch a validator was eligible for Foundation stake. Members also retire once outside stake tops 300,000 SOL.
At epoch 1077 the program still covered 337 validators with about 23.74 million SOL of Foundation stake — roughly 5% of the network. Retirement isn't a ban: nodes keep running permissionlessly, and retired operators can apply for renewal.
Foundation stake used to be a career. Now it's a lease.