Only 0.04% of Ethereum validators have been slashed since 2020, says core dev

The Ethereum ecosystem has seen lone 226 validators slashed since the motorboat of the Beacon Chain connected Dec. 1, 2022 — amounting to conscionable 0.04% of 524,060 validators, according to an Ethereum halfway developer.

Slashing is simply a process wherever a validator breaches the proof-of-stake statement rules, which often results successful the removal of that validator from the web and slashing a information of the staked Ether (ETH) that the validator provided arsenic collateral.

Such slim likelihood of being slashed were highlighted by Ethereum halfway developer “Superphiz” successful a Feb. 23 Twitter post, which suggests that radical shouldn’t beryllium acrophobic astir staking ETH for that peculiar reason.

226 retired of 523,000 validators connected the beacon concatenation person been slashed. This is thing to suffer slumber over. Many slashings person occurred during failed strategy migration. Here are 4 emerging champion signifier tips to debar this:https://t.co/wleR4YQmDD

— superphiz.eth (@superphiz) February 22, 2023

The developer besides explained “four emerging champion practices” to trim those likelihood adjacent further.

One of these practices was to hitch immoderate existing concatenation information connected aged staking machines and to reinstall and reformat the validator wherever necessary, said Superphiz, noting that galore slashings hap owed to “failed systems migrations.”

Superphiz past suggested utilizing “doppelganger detection” — which checks whether the validator's keys are progressive earlier starting the validation process.

While this tin interaction validator uptime, helium explained that “perfect uptime” isn’t worthy getting slashed successful the expansive strategy of things:

“It's omniscient to propulsion distant $0.06 to prevention $1700. (A slashing costs astir 1 Ether).”

The developer said it is besides worthy watching buffers and logs connected the Beacon Chain to go alert of immoderate imaginable problems that whitethorn arise.

Log of the slashed validators connected The Beacon Chain. Source: beaconcha.in.

If thing feels wrong, Superphiz suggested “unplugging everything” and to “come back” erstwhile the occupation has been identified and a projected solution is acceptable successful place.

The developer besides noted that implicit 150 of the 226 slashings person been caused by services alternatively than “home stakers.” 

Staked ETH and fig of progressive validators connected The Beacon Chain. Source: beaconcha.in.

Slashing tin hap owed to an “attestation” oregon a “proposal” violation, according to the Ethereum Foundation.

An attestation usurpation is 1 wherever a malicious validator attempts to alteration the past of a artifact oregon “double votes” by attesting 2 candidates for the aforesaid block.

A connection usurpation occurs erstwhile a validator proposes and signs 2 antithetic blocks for the aforesaid slot.

The bulk of slashing events person travel from attestation violations, according to information from beaconcha.in.

One of the largest slashing events occurred connected Feb. 4, 2021, erstwhile staking infrastructure supplier “Staked” had 75 of its validators slashed for producing competing blocks. Staked said the attestation usurpation came astir owed to a “technical issue.”

Related: What are the risks of the Ethereum Merge?

Since The Beacon Chain merged with the Ethereum proof-of-work chain connected Sept. 15, lone 35 of the full 226 slashings person taken place, according to beaconcha.in, which suggests that the Merge has not had a profound interaction connected slashing rates.

With astir 16.7 cardinal ETH staked (according to beaconcha.in) retired of 120.4 cardinal ETH presently successful circulation  (according to CoinGecko) — the percent of ETH staked is astir 13.9%.

ETH tin beryllium staked connected a centralized exchange, beryllium delegated to an third-party validator web oregon beryllium tally connected an autarkic node, which requires 32 ETH.