A viral claim of an 84% drop in Solana validator participation was debunked by founder Anatoly Yakovenko, who indicated a closer 20% decline and clarified the distinction between validators and full nodes. Despite clarifications, skepticism about Solana's decentralization persists due to the high costs associated with running a validator node. Efforts are ongoing by startups to enable more accessible node operation for everyday users, though cost-saving solutions remain in early stages.