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Slashing for validators

Overview​

This page describes the slashing rules that apply to Ronin validators and describes how to bail out of jail when such option is available.

Slashing is a mechanism that governs the behavior of validators on the Ronin blockchain. Each validator is required to keep the node online and up to date with the network, and to produce the correct block when it comes to their turn.

If a node is unavailable when needed or shows signs of malicious behavior, it is subjected to penalties such as the the following:

  • Reward slashing. Withholding rewards that the node would've otherwise earned.
  • RON slashing. Charging a fixed amount of RON tokens from the self-stake. Slashed RON then go to back to the reward pool.
  • Temporary or permanent ban from the network, or jailing.
note

A "day" in the slashing rules refers to the period from midnight to midnight UTC.

Double-sign validator​

It's a serious violation when a validator signs more than one block with the same height. Anyone can submit a slash request with the double-sign evidence, which should contain the two block headers with the same height, sealed by the same validator. Upon verifying the evidence, the offending validator is penalized as follows:

  • The validator is jailed for 263−12^{63}-1 blocks and can't be a validator in the future.
  • The validator is slashed the minimum staking amount of self-delegated RON.
  • The validator doesn't earn commission and the staking reward while in jail.

The validator's status is set to In jail.

Unavailability validator​

The performance of Ronin relies on the ability of everyone in the validator set to produce blocks on time when it's their turn. If a validator misses their turn, it affects the performance of the entire system. Thus, we implemented a mechanism that penalizes validators who miss too many blocks.

We use a smart contract to record the number of missed blocks for each validator. If the number of missed blocks exceeds a predefined threshold, the validator gets slashed.

Tier 1 validator slashing​

If a validator misses more than 100 blocks in a day, the validator doesn't earn commission and the staking reward on that day. The validator's status is set to Punished.

Tier 2 validator slashing​

If a validator misses more than 500 blocks in a day, the following penalties apply:

  • The validator doesn't earn commission and the staking reward on that day.
  • The validator is slashed 1,000 of self-delegated RON.
  • The validator is jailed for about 2 days (57,600 blocks) and is banned from the validator set while in jail.

The validator's status is set to In Jail. If the validator has sufficient credit score, they can bail out of jail.

Tier 3 validator slashing​

After getting bailed out, if the validator misses 100 more blocks on the same day, the following penalties apply:

  • The reward after bailout is removed.
  • The validator is slashed 1,000 of self-delegated RON.
  • The validator is jailed for about 2 days (57,600 blocks).

The validator's status is set to In Jail, and this time, the validator can't bail out.

Fast finality slashing​

In the fast finality mechanism, it's a serious violation when a validator publishes two distinct votes for the same height. The evidence can be submitted by anyone who notices the malicious behavior. Upon verifying the evidence, the offending validator is penalized as follows:

  • The validator is jailed for 263−12^{63}-1 blocks and can't be a validator in the future.
  • The validator is slashed for 250,000 of self-delegated RON.

The validator's status is set to In Jail.

Bailout​

If you're in tier 2 validator slashing, you can bail out of jail at any time using your credit score.

Here's how the credit score system works:

  • All validators start with 0 credit score.
  • Every day, each validator (who is not in jail) is given 50 credits if they miss no block. The validator loses 1 credit for every missed block.
  • The maximum number of credits for a validator is 600.
  • It takes 2 credits to bail out for each epoch.

Check your credit score​

  1. Go to Validator Dashboard > My Staking.
  2. Find your credit score under CREDIT SCORE, next to your total self-stake amount.

Use credit score to bail out​

  1. Go to Validator Dashboard > My Staking.

  2. Locate the warning banner and select Bail out.

  1. Review the terms of bailout and click Submit.

If you bail out on the same day you got slashed, you still receive 50% of the commission and staking reward from the time you bailed out until the end of the day.