What Is ‘Slashing’ in the Context of Proof-of-Stake?

Slashing is a punitive mechanism in Proof-of-Stake (PoS) systems designed to deter malicious or negligent behavior by validators. If a validator attempts to double-sign a block or becomes inactive for an extended period, a portion of their staked cryptocurrency collateral is confiscated (slashed) by the protocol.

This mechanism enforces good behavior and provides the economic security necessary for the consensus model to function reliably.