Epics DAO Solana Validator Reaches Top 5 in Shinobi Performance Pool — Score 99.92, Daily Incremental Improvements Deliver World-Class Performance

ERPC, operated by ELSOUL LABO B.V. (Amsterdam) and Validators DAO, is pleased to announce that the Epics DAO validator — which serves as the core node powering ERPC's SWQoS endpoints and Epic Shreds delivery — has reached Top 5 (5th place, score 99.92) in the Shinobi Performance Pool, a Solana staking pool that allocates stake based on on-chain performance metrics. Including superminority-class large-scale validators outside the pool, the Epics DAO validator ranks 6th among all Solana validators globally.

Our next milestones are Top 3, then the top position. Beyond that, we are committed to continuing our improvements as a validator that contributes to Solana's high-performance evolution.

Validator address: EpicsoqLdDP8qRn3wQRKTSKAXbjK9dUgFfNPRQS77MQD Staking page: https://epics.dev/en/staking/

From Top 10 to Top 5 in 4 Days — Acceleration Through Accumulation

Epics DAO Validator Shinobi Ranking Top5 Pool

When we announced our Top 10 entry last week, our score was 99.91. As of today, the score has risen to 99.92, placing us 5th in the Shinobi Performance Pool.

Including superminority-class large-scale validators outside the Shinobi Performance Pool, we rank 6th in performance among all Solana validators worldwide.

This growth is not the result of a single major initiative. It is the culmination of two years of continuous validator R&D and the strengthening of our operational framework — now manifesting as concrete results.

The Shinobi Performance Pool ranking does not yield immediate results. You must sustain consistently high performance; a single misstep can send you out of the rankings entirely. We are taking on the challenge of maintaining Top 5 status within these demanding evaluation criteria every single day.

What Validator Quality Means — The Foundation Supporting Solana's Performance

Contributing to Solana Network-Wide Performance

Solana is a distributed computing network. Its performance is determined by the aggregate performance of each individual validator.

The metrics evaluated by the Shinobi Performance Pool — vote success rate, vote latency, skip rate, and Compute Units per block — all measure how closely a validator tracks the latest block progression and how accurately it completes processing.

When our validator improves, it contributes to the overall processing speed and reliability of the Solana network. As each validator raises its performance, the entire chain's processing capability is elevated — our improvements are a contribution to the entire Solana ecosystem.

Higher Returns for Stakers

Solana's incentive design provides rewards proportional to validator performance — that is, the volume and quality of work performed. Validators that process faster and more accurately earn greater rewards. This design creates a network-wide incentive for speed optimization, and our performance improvements directly translate into higher returns for stakers.

The Epics DAO validator operates with a 0% staking commission and 0% MEV fee policy. Additional rewards earned through performance improvements are passed directly to stakers.

ERPC's SWQoS Connections and Epic Shreds Getting Even Faster

Validator performance improvements directly enhance the quality of ERPC's SWQoS endpoints. Stake-weighted Quality of Service (SWQoS) is Solana's traffic prioritization mechanism that grants priority lane access to stake-connected nodes. Stable validator operations and high processing performance directly influence the effective quality of communication paths utilizing SWQoS.

Additionally, Epic Shreds delivery speeds have improved further. Epic Shreds is the premium-tier Solana Shredstream delivered with minimal hops from the Epics DAO validator. Beyond the validator's ranking improvement, we have implemented further CPU-level optimizations, pushing performance to its absolute limits.

Solana RPC Quality — What Users Actually Touch Is the RPC

Every application that uses Solana accesses the network through RPC. Wallet balance displays, transaction confirmations, DeFi position updates — the Solana speed and quality that users actually experience is determined by RPC performance.

Recording transactions to blocks (writes) is important, but delivering that information to applications quickly and accurately (reads) is equally essential — it directly shapes the UX of every Solana application.

We operate both validators and Solana RPC infrastructure comprehensively. This is precisely why optimization insights accumulated from validator operations can be directly applied to ERPC's Solana RPC nodes, and feedback flows in the reverse direction as well. Validator performance improvements reach users as tangible RPC quality improvements — this virtuous cycle is the strength of operating comprehensive Solana infrastructure.

Why Professionals Choose ERPC — Infrastructure That Never Stops Improving

The reason ERPC is trusted by professional Solana infrastructure users is not simply that the network exists. It is because we continuously push forward with granular tune-ups and never stop improving.

Hardware generation upgrades, OS kernel parameter optimization, network stack tuning, IRQ affinity adjustments, CPU C-state disabling, governor locked to performance mode — across every layer, we accumulate daily work that pushes the performance ceiling higher.

The clearest indicator of this improvement quality and sustainability is the performance of the validator we operate. Through two years of R&D, we have raised our performance to 6th in the world. However, we are not satisfied with this result. We aim to achieve the world's top performance and lead the industry. And even after reaching the top, continuing to run at the top and never stopping our improvements — that is the vision we pursue.

SLV — R&D Results Published as Open Source Through AI Agents

Our validator R&D results are published through the open-source tool SLV in a form that anyone can reproduce.

SLV is an open-source tool that provides a consistent operational foundation for Solana development — from launching and operating Solana RPC nodes and validators to backup and migration. Key features support MCP servers, enabling execution through AI agents.

By publishing our accumulated optimization insights in an AI agent-executable format, we enable reduced operational overhead while improving reproducibility and quality. We invite you to try it.

SLV official site: https://slv.dev/en SLV GitHub: https://github.com/validatorsDAO/slv

Buidlers Collective — Full-Stack Connectivity for Developers, Backed by Epics DAO & Validators DAO

Buidlers Collective (BDLC) is the pathway within the Epics DAO and Validators DAO ecosystem through which open-source developers and Solana Buidlers can access ERPC's full-stack connectivity.

BDLC GENESIS is a community NFT limited to 1,000 units. While held, members receive complimentary access to the Bundle Standard plan worth €698/month — full-stack connectivity including Solana RPC, Solana Geyser gRPC, and Solana Shredstream (Direct Shreds).

When validator quality improves, ERPC quality improves. When ERPC quality improves, the infrastructure value received by BDLC holders increases. This Top 5 achievement further strengthens this virtuous cycle.

Buidlers Collective NFT Marketplace (Magic Eden): https://magiceden.io/marketplace/buidlersc

Toward Solana Scaling and Mass Adoption

Our efforts extend far beyond a single validator's ranking. Validator performance improvements, Solana RPC infrastructure optimization, and publishing operational knowledge through open-source tools — all of these contribute to enhancing Solana's scaling capabilities and building a fast, robust chain for mass adoption.

We will continue our improvements toward realizing a world where more users can leverage Solana faster, more reliably, and more securely.

Foundation for R&D — 5 Consecutive Years of WBSO Approval

ELSOUL LABO has received consecutive approval under the Dutch government's WBSO R&D incentive program every year since 2022 — five years running. Continuous research and development in Solana RPC infrastructure, validator placement and operational orchestration, and automation tooling has been recognized, and the Epics DAO, Validators DAO, and ERPC initiatives have all emerged from this accumulated body of work.

This Top 5 achievement demonstrates that the results of two years of R&D are beginning to manifest as concrete performance metrics. R&D results are cumulative, and the rate of improvement accelerates over time.

The Next-Generation Option — AS200261 Solana-Specialized Data Center

ELSOUL LABO has been assigned its own ASN (AS200261) by RIPE NCC and is progressing toward opening a new top-tier data center specialized for Solana. Featuring hardware unified on the latest-generation AMD EPYC 5th Gen, AMD Threadripper PRO 5th Gen (9975WX, etc.), and NVMe 5th Gen, combined with optimal network path design through our own ASN, this represents the highest-quality infrastructure exceeding existing premium data centers.

Opening is planned for next month, serving as the foundation for further acceleration across both validators and infrastructure. The initial lot is sold out by reservation, but subsequent inventory will be offered in waitlist order.

Our Gratitude

We have been able to sustain these improvements thanks to the support and cooperation of our community. Real-world operational feedback from our users has sharpened both our prioritization and the precision of our validation processes.

We will continue building an environment worthy of our customers' high-performance application development and operations.

Thank you, as always.

Disclaimer

This article is not intended as investment advice. Staking, LSTs, and related activities involve inherent risks. Please conduct your own thorough research before making any decisions (NFA / DYOR).