What Is Slashing in Crypto Staking?

Slashing is a penalty in proof-of-stake blockchains that takes away part of a validator's staked coins, or its rewards, when it breaks the protocol's rules, such as signing two conflicting blocks. It is how a chain makes cheating more expensive than honest behaviour, and if you delegate stake, it can affect you too.

Slashing definition

In a proof-of-stake network, validators lock up coins as a security deposit. That deposit is what gives their signatures weight. Slashing is the rule that lets the protocol destroy or confiscate part of the deposit when a validator provably misbehaves.

The classic slashable offence is equivocation, also called double signing: voting for or proposing two different blocks at the same height. Some chains also punish long downtime, though often more gently, through lost rewards or temporary removal from the validator set ("jailing").

Not every chain slashes principal. Each network sets its own rules, so the same word can mean very different risks depending on where you stake.

How slashing works

1. Detection. Other validators or the protocol itself spot evidence of a rule break, such as two signed messages that conflict.
2. Proof on-chain. The evidence is submitted in a transaction so anyone can verify it.
3. Penalty. The protocol deducts a set share of the validator's stake, cuts its rewards, or both.
4. Removal. The validator is usually ejected or jailed and must exit or pay to rejoin.
5. Delegators share the hit. On chains where delegated stake is slashable, people who delegated to that validator lose the same proportion.

How this looks on specific chains, as of the sources checked in October 2026:

• Ethereum slashes principal. Since the Pectra upgrade in 2025, the initial penalty is 1/4096 of effective balance, down from 1/32, with an extra correlation penalty if many validators are slashed around the same time (Coinbase on Pectra).
• Sui penalises rewards rather than principal. Under its tallying rule, a badly performing validator can be punished, and neither it nor its stakers receive staking rewards for that epoch (Sui docs); staked SUI principal itself is not slashed (Figment).
• MultiversX uses a rating system: a validator whose rating drops below 10 points is jailed and stops earning rewards until its operator sends an unjail transaction (MultiversX docs).

Slashing example

Say you delegate 1,000 tokens to a validator with 100,000 tokens of total stake on a hypothetical chain that slashes 2% of stake for double signing. The validator's server is misconfigured and signs two blocks at the same height. The protocol removes 2,000 tokens from the validator's pool. Your share is 1% of the pool, so you lose 20 tokens and now hold 980, plus you earn nothing while the validator is ejected.

On a rewards-only system like Sui's, the same delegator would keep all 1,000 tokens but miss that epoch's rewards. If the hypothetical yield were 3% a year, one missed daily epoch costs roughly 1,000 × 3% / 365, or about 0.08 tokens.

Why slashing matters

Slashing is the main reason validator choice is not a formality. Before you stake, it helps to check:

• Whether principal or only rewards are at risk on that chain.
• Validator track record, uptime and whether it runs redundant setups that could double sign.
• Concentration. Spreading stake across validators limits the damage from any single failure.
• How your liquid staking provider handles it. Some spread deposits across many validators; some keep an insurance buffer; some pass losses straight to token holders.

Our guide is liquid staking safe? covers how slashing sits alongside contract and depeg risk, and Sui validators explained shows what to look for in a validator.

Slashing on JewelSwap

JewelSwap's liquid staking does not run validators itself. The coins behind JWLSUI, JWLEGLD and JWLXRD are delegated across multiple whitelisted validators, with the split set by gauge votes, so a penalty on any single validator affects only the share delegated to it, under that chain's own rules.

Related terms

• LST (liquid staking token) — a transferable token representing staked coins and their rewards.
• Epoch — the period after which a chain settles rewards and penalties.
• Governance token — a token used to vote, including on validator delegation.
• Multisig wallet — a wallet needing several signatures, often used to secure validator and protocol keys.
• Hot wallet vs cold wallet — online versus offline key storage.

Learn more on the JewelSwap blog

• Is liquid staking safe? — slashing, contract, depeg and liquidity risks side by side.
• Sui validators explained — how Sui validators are chosen, scored and rewarded.
• Liquid staking vs native staking — how risk and flexibility change when you stake through a protocol.

Frequently asked questions

What does slashing mean in crypto?

It means a proof-of-stake network penalises a validator for breaking its rules by removing part of its stake or rewards. Double signing is the most common slashable offence.

Can delegators be slashed?

On chains that slash delegated stake, yes: delegators lose the same proportion as the validator they chose. On chains such as Sui, only rewards are at risk, not principal.

Slashing vs jailing: what is the difference?

Slashing takes away stake or rewards as a penalty. Jailing temporarily removes a validator from the active set so it stops earning, without necessarily destroying any stake. Some chains use both.

JewelSwap Crypto Glossary · educational, not financial advice. Updated 2 October 2026. Browse the full glossary.