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Slashing
A penalty that removes part of a validator's staked funds for provable misbehavior.
Slashing is a penalty in proof-of-stake networks where a portion of a validator's staked funds is forcibly removed as a consequence of provable misbehavior, such as attempting to validate conflicting blocks.
Slashing is designed to make dishonest or careless validator behavior costly, giving validators a direct financial incentive to follow the network's rules correctly. See Kaavon's "Validator" glossary definition for who bears this penalty, and "Commission Rate (Validator)" for how it can flow through to anyone who delegated to that validator.
Examples
- A validator caught double-signing conflicting blocks can be slashed under many proof-of-stake designs.
- Slashing risk is one reason validator uptime and correct configuration matter to those who stake through them.