Only 0.04% of Ethereum Validators Have Been Hacked Since 2020, Core Developer Says

The Ethereum ecosystem has seen just 226 validators cut since the launch of the Beacon Chain on December 1, 2022 – equivalent to just 0.04% of 524,060 validators, according to an Ethereum core developer.

Slashing is a process where a validator breaks the proof-of-stake consensus rules, often resulting in the removal of that validator from the network and cutting a portion of the stake Ether (ETH) that the validator provided as collateral.

So little chance of being cut was highlighted by Ethereum core developer “Superphiz” in a Twitter post on February 23, suggesting that people shouldn’t be worried about staking ETH for that particular reason.

The developer also explained “four new best practices” to further reduce those odds.

One of those practices was to delete all existing chain data on old staking machines and to reinstall and reformat the validator where necessary, Superphiz said, noting that many slashings occur due to “failed system migrations.”

Superphiz then suggested using “doppelganger detection” – which checks if the validator’s keys are active before the validation process starts.

While this may affect the validator’s uptime, he explained that “perfect uptime” is not worth cutting in the grand scheme of things:

“It’s wise to throw away $0.06 to save $1,700. (A cut costs about 1 Ether).”

The developer said it’s also worth looking at the buffers and logs on the Beacon Chain to become aware of any potential issues that may arise.

If something feels off, Superphiz suggested “disconnecting everything” and “come back” once the problem is identified and a proposed solution is put in place.

The developer also noted that over 150 of the 226 layoffs have been caused by services rather than “home workers”.

Slashing can occur due to a “certificate” or a “proposal” violation, according to the Ethereum Foundation.

An attestation breach is one where a malicious validator attempts to change the history of a block or “double vote” by attesting two candidates for the same block.

A proposal violation occurs when a validator proposes and signs two different blocks for the same slot.

The majority of slashing incidents have come from attestation violations, according to data from beaconcha.in.

One of the largest slashing events occurred on February 4, 2021, when staking infrastructure provider “Staked” had 75 of its validators hacked to produce competing blocks. Staked said the certification breach was due to a “technical issue.”

Related: What are the risks of the Ethereum merger?

Since The Beacon Chain merged with the Ethereum proof-of-work chain on September 15, only 35 of the total 226 slashings have taken place, according to beaconcha.in, suggesting that the merger has not had a profound impact on slashing rates.

With around 16.7 million ETH staked (according to beaconcha.in) out of 120.4 million ETH currently in circulation (according to CoinGecko) – the proportion of ETH staked is about 13.9%.

ETH can be staked on a centralized hub, delegated to a third-party validation network, or run on an independent node, which requires 32 ETH.