I used to run a Solana validator. After compiling the Solana perf libs for my installed version of CUDA Solana consistently used at least 75% of my RTX 3090. For a validator.

Solana validator hardware requirements are incredibly high compared to anything else I'm familiar with.

Have you seen what a Bitcoin ASIC miner costs?

Of course. Why (and what) are you trying to compare between Bitcoin mining (PoW) and Solana validating (PoS)? Five or so years ago I did about 25 kW constant load of PoW mining so yes, I'm pretty familiar.

In additional to the Solana validator from my original comment I've also run Ethereum and Cardano validators (or rough equivalents). They use a fraction of the compute required by a Solana validator while providing similar rewards and network function.

Again, in terms of PoS chain validators the hardware requirements of Solana are significantly higher than any other PoS chain I'm aware of - it's not even close.

> Solana isn't more centralized because of PoS, it's because it has extremely high validator requirements (including a 300Mbps internet connection, which rules out running one in most homes).

High validator requirements are a barrier to entry, but Solana has a Nakamoto coefficient (decentralization score) of about 30 (actually more, but this is a couple of months ago) which is more than most - probably all - fast chains.

https://youtu.be/5NDs3Il2J3Q?list=RDCMUC9AdQPUe4BdVJ8M9X7wxH...