Solana has initiated the second phase of its five-part plan to reduce account storage deposits, known as rent, by 90%. This update, activated on the mainnet around September 11, 2026, lowers the rent parameter from 6,333 lamports per byte to 5,080.
The reduction makes approximately 612,000 SOL available for users to reclaim. This amount represents the excess deposits held in existing accounts. Users can withdraw these funds using the WithdrawExcessLamports instruction without needing to close their accounts.
The initial rent rate was 6,960 lamports per byte, with the final target set at 696 lamports per byte by November 2026. The first step occurred on September 3, 2026, and the two completed phases represent a cumulative 27% reduction in costs.
The total amount expected to be reclaimable across all five steps is projected to exceed 3 million SOL. These funds are not newly minted but are existing deposits that were previously locked on-chain.
Future phases depend on monitoring network state growth and the release of the Agave 4.4 validator client. The rent system functions as a refundable deposit required for on-chain data storage, affecting token accounts, NFTs, and DeFi positions.
