Slashing
A penalty mechanism that destroys a portion of a validator's staked tokens for malicious or negligent behavior.
In-Depth Explanation
Slashing keeps proof-of-stake validators honest. Offenses include double-signing (attesting to conflicting blocks) and extended downtime. Slashed validators lose a percentage of stake and may be ejected from the validator set. The threat of slashing is what gives staked assets economic security value. Restaking introduces additional slashing conditions.
Related Terms
Validator
A participant in a proof-of-stake network who stakes tokens and is responsible for proposing and attesting to new blocks.
Proof of Stake
PoSA consensus mechanism where validators are chosen to create blocks based on the amount of cryptocurrency they've staked as collateral.
Restaking
Using already-staked assets to simultaneously secure additional protocols or services, earning multiple yield streams.
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