About Validator slashing

What is validator slashing?

Validator slashing is a penalty mechanism that is essential to maintaining network integrity.

In a Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) blockchain such as Chiliz Chain, validators stake tokens and are selected based on reputation and staking amount.

PoSA combines elements of the Proof of Stake (PoS) and the Proof of Authority (PoA) consensus mechanisms.

Validator slashing ensures that validators act responsibly and in Chiliz Chain's best interest. It therefore discourages malicious activities like missed blocks and prolonged downtime.

Slashing is crucial for aligning validators' behavior with the network's security and reliability.

Validator penalties on Chiliz Chain

There are two possible penalties for validators: Missed Blocks and Extended Downtime.

These penalties are cumulative: they are given when happening within the same epoch, with the validator node reaching Slashing Level 1, then Slashing Level 2.

This means that a validator node which reaches the second penalty (Slashing Level 2) already bears the consequences of the first penalty (Slashing Level 1).

The details for the two penalties are:

• Missed Blocks penalty: If a validator node misses XXX blocks per epoch (about a day), it loses the rewards for that epoch. This is Slashing Level 1.

• Extended Downtime penalty ("jail"): If a validator node misses YYY blocks per epoch, it has already lost the rewards for that epoch (Slashing Level 1), and further are "jailed" for 4 epochs (Slashing Level 2). The validator node owner will only be able to "release" the validator node after this period.

The penalties are calculated following these formulas:

• Slashing level 1: XXX = (Total nbr of blocks in an epoch / Total nbr of Validators) / 2

• Slashing level 2: YYY = (Total nbr of blocks in an epoch / Total nbr of Validators) * 3/4

How to unjail a validator node

If your validator node is "jailed", you can "release" (unjail) it, provided that you have fixed the issue and waiting 4 epochs.

Before you ask for a release, make sure that you have fixed the issue that brought your node to jail in the first place!

This might mean upgrading your node, or ensuring that anything that prevents it from being active is corrected.

To release your validator node from jail, you need to follow these steps:

1. Once you have fixed the initial issue for the node jailing, you need to wait 4 epochs (roughly 4-5 days).

2. After the 4 epochs have passed, connect your validator's owner wallet to the Chiliz Staking dApp.
3. Click on the "Unjail" button, located here on the right:

   
4. Enter the wallet address of the jailed node, and click "Submit".

1. Your node will be released from jail and can be active again.

Your node needs to wait for the next epoch to start producing blocks. At most it might take 24 hours.