What Is the Difference between ‘Slashing’ and ‘Unstaking’ in DeFi?
Unstaking is the voluntary action of a user withdrawing their locked tokens from a staking contract, typically after an unbonding period. It is a normal, non-punitive process.
Slashing, in contrast, is the involuntary, punitive loss of a portion of a user's staked tokens due to malicious or negligent behavior (e.g. double-signing or downtime). Unstaking is a user choice; slashing is a protocol enforcement mechanism for security.
Glossar
Slashing
Penalty ⎊ Slashing, within the context of proof-of-stake blockchain networks, represents a mechanism for penalizing validators who engage in malicious or faulty behavior, directly impacting network security and consensus integrity.
Protocol Enforcement
Finality ⎊ This refers to the immutable, programmatic execution of rules embedded within the blockchain's core logic, ensuring that transactions and smart contract states are settled as designed.
Pos
Consensus ⎊ Proof-of-Stake (PoS) is a consensus mechanism where network participants, known as validators, commit their native tokens as collateral to secure the blockchain and validate new transactions.
Negligent Behavior
Behavior ⎊ Negligent Behavior in the context of cryptocurrency operations refers to a failure to exercise the reasonable standard of care expected of a professional participant, leading to preventable financial loss or systemic risk.
Staking
Yield ⎊ Staking, within cryptocurrency ecosystems, represents a mechanism for participants to earn rewards by actively participating in the operation of a blockchain network, typically by locking up their crypto assets for a defined period.
Unstaking
Release ⎊ The operational phase following the completion of a required waiting period, where previously locked assets are returned to the owner's control.