Slashing
Also known as: Stake Penalty, Validator Punishment, Proof of Stake Deterrent
A penalty mechanism that removes a portion of a staker’s funds for malicious behavior or protocol violations.
Slashing is a punitive measure in Proof of Stake (PoS) and related consensus mechanisms where a validator loses a portion of their staked assets due to misbehavior or security violations. Common reasons for slashing include double signing, downtime, or acting against the network’s interest. Slashing maintains network integrity by financially disincentivizing bad actors and rewarding honest behavior. The severity and conditions vary by protocol—for example, Ethereum, Cosmos, and Polkadot each implement slashing rules tailored to their security models. Slashed funds may be burned or redistributed.