Since the Beacon Chain deposit contract launched in 2020, 226 validators have been slashed, 75 of them simultaneously in February 2021. The data was provided by the main Ethereum developer under the nickname superphiz.
226 out of 523,000 validators on the beacon chain have been slashed. This is nothing to lose sleep over. Many slashings have occurred during failed system migration. Here are four emerging best practice tips to avoid this:https://t.co/wleR4YQmDD
— superphiz.eth ??? (@superphiz) February 22, 2023
This is not something to lose sleep over, the expert explained.
According to the blockchain watcher, on the Beacon Chain are operating 524,409 validators.
Slashing (penalties) apply to violations of consensus Proof-of-Stake during “attestation” or “proposals.” It can take the form of losing a portion of ETH staked and (often) being excluded from those who can be rewarded for work.
Violations of attestations occur when a validator attempts to alter the history of a block or attest two candidates for the same block (“double votes”). Such violations are most common, according to statistics.
Violations of proposals occur when a validator proposes and signs two different blocks for the same slot.
Superphiz shared four tips on how to avoid slashing:
- remove any existing network data on old machines, reinstall and reformat them;
- use clone detection — check that the validator keys are active before starting the verification process (this may affect the uptime parameter but will give more chances not to get slashed);
- create a checklist and follow it, set up 15-minute observation buffers via the relevant log and blockchain explorer to stay on top of potential issues;
- if something seems wrong, it is better to “turn everything off” and “go back” when the problem manifests and a solution is devised.
At present, users have locked up 16.78 million ETH or 13.93% of the total supply of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation.
Around March 2023, Ethereum awaits a major upgrade — Shanghai. The forthcoming upgrade will allow users to withdraw ETH from the Beacon Chain deposit contract and is expected to bring a number of system improvements.
As a reminder, on February 28 will take place the deployment of the Shanghai-Capella (Shapella) upgrade on the Sepolia test network.
Earlier, Binance Research analysts calculated that only 31% of Ethereum stakers are in profit relative to current market quotes.