Level 1: Minor Misconduct
○ Example: Occasional unresponsiveness.
○ Penalty: Up to 0.1% of the validator's stake.
○ Calculation: For a validator with 20,000 AGCs, slashing 0.1% results in a penalty of 20 AGCs.
○ Explanation: Minor issues are expected to happen rarely and individually.
Level 2: Moderate Misconduct
○ Example: Repeated unresponsiveness or isolated cases of equivocation.
○ Penalty: Up to 1% of the validator's stake.
○ Calculation: For a validator with 20,000 AGCs, slashing 1% results in a penalty of 200 AGCs.
○ Explanation: These are more severe issues that should cause the validator to reconsider their practices.
Level 3: Serious Misconduct
○ Example: Collusion among validators or hacked validator nodes.
○ Penalty: Up to 10% of the validator's stake.
○ Calculation: For a validator with 20,000 AGCs, slashing 10% results in a penalty of 2,000 AGCs.
○ Explanation: Such misconducts indicate coordinated attacks or significant security risks.
Level 4: Critical Misconduct
○ Example: Major security risks or extensive collusion.
○ Penalty: Up to 100% of the validator's stake.
○ Calculation: For a validator with 20,000 AGCs, slashing 100% results in a penalty of 20,000 AGCs (total stake).
○ Explanation: The highest level of penalty is reserved for actions that threaten the entire network’s security. From the slashed amount 5% goes to the reporter.
● Validators and Nominators: When a validator is slashed, both the validator and their nominators are penalized proportionally to their stake.
● Encouragement: This system encourages nominators to distribute their support across various validators to minimize risk.
1. Unresponsiveness
○ Detection Method: Validators must submit an "I'm online" heartbeat messag each session.
○ Calculation: If a validator fails to send this, they are marked as inactive.
○ Penalty: A fraction of their stake is slashed based on the number of unresponsive validators:
■ Example: If there are 50 validators and 3 are unresponsive, the penalty is 0.05 * min( (3 * (3−1) / 50), 1) = 0.05 * min( (6 / 50), 1) = 0.05 * 0.12 =0.006 or 0.6%.
2. Grandpa Equivocation and Unjustified Votes ○ Equivocation: A validator signs two or more votes in the same round.
■ Level 2 Misconduct: Minor, accidental equivocations. ○ Unjustified Votes: Voting for a chain incompatible with finalized blocks.
Detection: Requires another validator to submit a transaction with proof of the unjustified vote.
Penalty: Up to 10% of the validator's stake.
Reward: The reporter gets 10% of the slashed amount.
3. Babe Equivocation
○ Equivocation: Producing two or more blocks in the same time slot.
○ Penalty: Similar to Grandpa equivocation, often treated as Level 2 misconduct unless coordinated with others.
Database and Detection Mechanisms
● Off-chain Database: Maintains records of validator misconduct and slashing events.
● Proof of Misconduct: Short proofs (like signed votes) that can be quickly verified on-chain.
● Voting Certificate: When short proof isn’t possible, validators vote on the misconduct, which is more resource-intensive and reserved for severe cases.
Example of Level 2 Misconduct (Repeated Unresponsiveness)
○ Validator with 20,000 AGCs.
○ Penalty: 1% of 20,000 AGCs = 200 AGCs.
Example of Level 3 Misconduct (Validator Node Hacked)
○ Validator with 50,000 AGCs.
○ Penalty: 10% of 50,000 AGCs = 5,000 AGCs.
Example of Level 4 Misconduct (Major Collusion)
○ Validator with 100,000 AGCs.
○ Penalty: 100% of 100,000 AGCs = 100,000 AGCs.
Rewards for Reporting
● Levels 1 and 2: The reporter gets 10% of the slashed amount.
● Levels 3 and 4: Reporters (validators) get a proportionate reward shared among all involved nominators.
Inspection Phase: Validators check the blob and issue validity statements.
Voting Phase: If there's a conflict (validity vs invalidity statements), all validators vote. The decision is based on the majority.
Argochain's slashing mechanisms are designed to penalize validators in a way that reflects the severity of their misconduct. By understanding and adhering to these principles, validators, and nominators can contribute to the network's security and stability.