BlockX Documentation
  • Introduction
    • BlockX
    • Tokens
    • Transactions
    • Inflation
    • Keys
      • Keyring
      • Multisig
    • Gas Fees
    • Wallet and Accounts
      • Adding BlockX to Metamask
      • Adding BlockX to Keplr
      • Transfers Between Wallets
      • Backup
    • Deploying Smart Contracts
      • Remix
      • Hardhat
  • BlockX White Paper
  • The BCX Token
  • Governance
    • Proposals
      • Proposal Tips
      • Submit a Proposal
    • Community Pool
    • Chain Parameters
  • Technical Concepts
    • Architecture
    • Accounts
    • Chain ID
    • Encoding
    • Pending State
  • dApp Developers
    • Establishing Connections
    • BlockX Clients
    • Guides
      • Wallet Integration
      • Smart Contract Incentive Registration
      • Tracing Transactions
      • Query Balances
    • Localnet
      • Single-node
      • Multi-node
    • Testnet
      • Testnet Commands
    • Ethereum JSON-RPC
      • JSON-RPC Server
      • Running the Server
      • Namespaces
      • JSON-RPC Methods
      • Events
    • Tendermint RPC
  • Protocol Developers
    • Modules
      • auth
        • Concepts
        • State
        • AnteHandlers
        • Keepers
        • Vesting
        • Parameters
        • Client Auth
      • bank
        • State
        • Keepers
        • Messages
        • Events
        • Parameters
        • Client
      • crisis
        • State
        • Messages
        • Events
        • Parameters
        • Client
      • distribution
        • Concepts
        • State
        • Begin Block
        • Messages
        • Hooks
        • Events
        • Parameters
        • Client
      • epochs
        • Concepts
        • State
        • Events
        • Keepers
        • Hooks
        • Queries
        • Future Improvements
      • erc20
        • Concepts
        • State
        • State Transitions
        • Transactions
        • Hooks
        • Events
        • Parameters
        • Clients
      • evidence
        • Concepts
        • State
        • Messages
        • Events
        • Parameters
        • BeginBlock
        • Client
      • evm
        • Concepts
        • State
        • State Transitions
        • Transactions
        • ABCI
        • Hooks
        • Events
        • Parameters
        • Client
      • feemarket
        • Concepts
        • State
        • Begin block
        • End block
        • AnteHandlers
        • Keeper
        • Events
        • Client
        • Future Improvements
        • Parameters
      • feesplit
        • Concepts
        • State
        • State Transitions
        • Transactions
        • Hooks
        • Events
        • Parameters
        • Clients
        • Future Improvements
      • gov
        • Concepts
        • State
        • Messages
        • Events
        • Future Improvements
        • Parameters
        • Client
      • incentives
        • Concepts
        • State
        • State Transitions
        • Transactions
        • Hooks
        • Events
        • Parameters
        • Clients
      • ibc-core
      • inflation
        • Concepts
        • State
        • Hooks
        • Events
        • Parameters
        • Clients
      • slashing
        • Concepts
        • State
        • Messages
        • BeginBlock
        • Hooks
        • Events
        • Staking Tombstone
        • Parameters
        • CLI
      • staking
        • State
        • State Transitions
        • Messages
        • Begin-Block
        • End-Block
        • Hooks
        • Events
        • Parameters
        • Client
      • upgrade
        • Concepts
        • State
        • Events
        • Client
        • Resources
      • vesting
        • Concepts
        • State
        • State Transitions
        • Transactions
        • AnteHandlers
        • Events
        • Clients
    • Module Accounts
    • IBC Channels
    • Ethermint API
  • Validators
    • Quick Start
    • Telemetry
    • Security
      • Tendermint KMS
      • Tendermint KMS + Ledger
      • Validator Security Checklist
      • Validator Backup
    • Snapshots, Archive Nodes
    • FAQ
  • Delegators
    • Staking Process
  • Tokenomics
  • Block Explorers
Powered by GitBook
On this page
  • States
  • Tombstone Caps
  • Infraction Timelines
  1. Protocol Developers
  2. Modules
  3. slashing

Concepts

States

At any given time, there are any number of validators registered in the state machine. Each block, the top MaxValidators (defined by x/staking) validators who are not jailed become bonded, meaning that they may propose and vote on blocks. Validators who are bonded are at stake, meaning that part or all of their stake and their delegators' stake is at risk if they commit a protocol fault.

For each of these validators we keep a ValidatorSigningInfo record that contains information partaining to validator's liveness and other infraction related attributes.

Tombstone Caps

In order to mitigate the impact of initially likely categories of non-malicious protocol faults, the Cosmos Hub implements for each validator a tombstone cap, which only allows a validator to be slashed once for a double sign fault.

For example, if you misconfigure your HSM and double-sign a bunch of old blocks, you'll only be punished for the first double-sign (and then immediately tombstombed). This will still be quite expensive and desirable to avoid, but tombstone caps somewhat blunt the economic impact of unintentional misconfiguration.

Liveness faults do not have caps, as they can't stack upon each other. Liveness bugs are "detected" as soon as the infraction occurs, and the validators are immediately put in jail, so it is not possible for them to commit multiple liveness faults without unjailing in between.

Infraction Timelines

To illustrate how the x/slashing module handles submitted evidence through Tendermint consensus, consider the following examples:

Definitions:

[ : timeline start ] : timeline end Cn : infraction n committed Dn : infraction n discovered Vb : validator bonded Vu : validator unbonded

Single Double Sign Infraction

[----------C1----D1,Vu-----]

A single infraction is committed then later discovered, at which point the validator is unbonded and slashed at the full amount for the infraction.

Multiple Double Sign Infractions

[----------C1--C2---C3---D1,D2,D3Vu-----]

Multiple infractions are committed and then later discovered, at which point the validator is jailed and slashed for only one infraction. Because the validator is also tombstoned, they can not rejoin the validator set.

PreviousslashingNextState

Last updated 2 years ago