Solana activated the second step of protocol proposal SIMD-0437 on mainnet-beta at epoch 1033 on Sept. 11, 2026, lowering the lamports_per_byte rent constant from 6,333 to 5,080 at 21:09 UTC. The change puts the parameter 27% below its original 6,960 lamports per byte. An estimated 612,000 SOL, worth about $62.5 million, is now reclaimable from accounts that were funded under the higher minimum. Reclaiming the excess is not automatic and requires account holders to close or adjust affected accounts using tools that support the WithdrawExcessLamports mechanism. SIMD-0437 sets out three remaining gated reductions to 2,575, 1,322 and ultimately 696 lamports per byte, a 90% cut from the original level. The official upgrade page estimates that a standard SPL token account would eventually require about $0.016 in rent, compared with $0.159 before the reductions, while up to 3.06 million SOL could become reclaimable across the full rollout. No calendar dates have been set for the remaining steps; developers must first review on-chain state growth after each activation. SIMD-0438 provides a reversal mechanism if growth exceeds the level supported by the risk analysis.