Blocks United

Validator Jailed? Here’s What to Do.

If your validator has gone offline, or if you’re concerned about Cosmos slashing this article is for you. 

Quite a few validators have been jailed recently. Even the Binance node has been jailed twice! 

Many delegators have posted looking for help. If you need to know how to redelegate ATOM from your jailed validator, you’re in luck! And, it’s simpler than you think.

Cosmos Slashing

Validators are jailed for having too much downtime, or for double signing blocks.

Most ATOM validators host their nodes in data centers. Downtime can happen because the data center had an outage, or because the validator failed to make a critical network update.

Validators that miss 10,000 or more blocks are jailed and slashed for downtime. For this offense, the Cosmos slashing penalty is just a slap on the wrist of 0.01%. That means you lose 0.01% of your tokens that are staked with the jailed validator.

The slashing penalty for double signing blocks is 5%. It’s a more serious offense and so the penalty is larger. 

Double signing blocks generally occurs for two reasons:

  1. The validator runs multiple nodes on the same blockchain and they interfered with each other.
  2. The validator is dishonest and tried to steal tokens.

These are just the risks of staking tokens. That’s why it’s important to stake with the best validatorsHopefully, your jailed validator was only slashed for downtime and your loss is minimal.

How to redelegate from your jailed validator

  1. Click the “Stake” button in Keplr or your wallet. A new tab or window will open up in your browser.
  2. Then click “Manage–>” next to your current jailed validator. A pop up box opens and “Redelegate” is the second option.
  3. Click “Redelegate.”
  4. A pop up appears and says “Redelegate to.” Type Blocks United into the search box or scroll down the list to find us. 
  5. Click “Next” 
  6. Click “MAX” when selecting how many tokens to redelegate, so none are left on the jailed node. 
  7. Click “Redelegate”
  8. A pop up then appears that lets you choose low, medium, or high gas. That’s the cost for the transaction. You’ll notice a small option at the bottom right called, “Set Gas.”
  9. Click “Set Gas” and type in a minimum of 4500000, which is like $2 so don’t freak out.
  10. Then complete the transaction.

Congratulations! Within a few seconds your tokens should be staked with us at Blocks United. Please know that you can only redelegate ATOM tokens once in 21 days.

To view our detailed Cosmos redelegation tutorial with screenshots of Keplr, Cosmostation, Leap, and Trust wallets check out: Do I have to unstake to change ATOM validators?

Hopefully you now have a better understanding of Cosmos slashing penalties and how to redelegate ATOM.

Thanks for staking with us!

Nothing we say is financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell anything. Cryptocurrency is a highly speculative asset class. Staking crypto tokens carries additional risks, including but not limited to smart-contract exploitation, poor validator performance or slashing, token price volatility, loss or theft, lockup periods, and illiquidity. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Never invest more than you can afford to lose. Additionally, the information contained in our articles, social media posts, emails, and on our website is not intended as, and shall not be understood or construed as financial advice. We are not attorneys, accountants, or financial advisors, nor are we holding ourselves out to be. The information contained in our articles, social media posts, emails, and on our website is not a substitute for financial advice from a professional who is aware of the facts and circumstances of your individual situation. We have done our best to ensure that the information provided in our articles, social media posts, emails, and the resources on our website are accurate and provide valuable information. Regardless of anything to the contrary, nothing available in our articles, social media posts, website, or emails should be understood as a recommendation to buy or sell anything and make any investment or financial decisions without consulting with a financial professional to address your particular situation. Blocks United expressly recommends that you seek advice from a professional. Neither Blocks United nor any of its employees or owners shall be held liable or responsible for any errors or omissions in our articles, in our social media posts, in our emails, or on our website, or for any damage or financial losses you may suffer. The decisions you make belong to you and you only, so always Do Your Own Research.

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