How Does ‘Slashing’ Work in a Proof-of-Stake System?

Slashing is a punitive mechanism in Proof-of-Stake (PoS) protocols designed to penalize validators who act maliciously or negligently. If a validator double-signs a transaction (malicious) or goes offline for an extended period (negligent), a portion of their staked tokens is automatically taken away (slashed) by the protocol's smart contract.

The slashed tokens are typically burned or redistributed. This economic deterrent ensures validators maintain high uptime and act honestly, securing the network against bad actors.