Exploring Berachain V2: The Transformation of Validator Node Staking and Slashing Mechanisms
A key economic change in V2 is the introduction of larger validation node collateral.Original Title: “Berachain V2: What's New?”
Author: Infrared Finance
Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow
In January this year, the Artio testnet of Berachain went live, and since then, the ecosystem has been steadily rising. Developers, users, and validator operators have participated in the testing, helping to stress test the network and guide Berachain's design decisions. The V1 testnet validated core concepts such as proof of liquidity but also identified areas for improvement, which is where V2 comes in. We will do our best to summarize the latest achievements of Berachain's core developers.
Brief Overview
Validator nodes now need to stake 69,420 BERA instead of BGT to enhance economic security.
BGT delegators will no longer be slashed.
All validator nodes have an equal opportunity to produce blocks.
The cap on the number of validator nodes has been increased to improve decentralization.
The core tech stack has been changed from Polaris to BeaconKit to enhance performance and EVM compatibility.
A public Infrared testnet deployment is coming soon.
New Changes in V2
Changes in BERA Staking and Slashing
A key economic change in V2 is the introduction of a larger validator node margin, which is the amount staked in BERA. Simply put, the validator node margin is the number of tokens that must be staked when a validator node starts producing blocks.
In V2, the validator node margin has increased from a small amount of BGT to 69,420 BERA. This ensures that validator nodes have a higher economic stake, increasing the cost of potential attacks and enhancing the network's security. This change means that validator nodes bear more responsibility while increasing the utility of BERA without affecting the role of BGT in proof of liquidity.
Changes in BERA staking also affect validator node slashing, which is a penalty for misconduct or poor performance by validator nodes. If a validator node is slashed, a portion of the staked tokens will be deducted, which is an undesirable outcome.
In V1, slashing could affect both validator nodes and BGT delegators. In V2, only the BERA stake of validator nodes will be slashed. This protects BGT delegators and places more responsibility on validator nodes, ensuring that users and the protocol feel more secure when using their BGT to participate in proof of liquidity.
Fairer Block Production
In V1, the opportunity for validator nodes to produce new blocks increased with the amount of BGT delegated to them. In V2, block production has been improved, and all validator nodes now have an equal opportunity to produce new blocks, with block rewards increasing proportionally based on their delegated BGT. This ensures a fairer distribution of rewards and encourages more validator nodes to join the network while still maintaining the importance of BGT delegation.
Cap on the Number of Validator Nodes
The cap on the number of validator nodes has increased from 100 to 128, with the possibility of more in the future. It is well known that increasing the cap on validator nodes can improve decentralization and network security. Decentralization is important!
Architecture Upgrade
Finally, Berachain V2 has migrated from the Polaris architecture to BeaconKit, which will enhance network performance. BeaconKit allows the use of any Ethereum execution client, such as Reth, Geth, or Nethermind, making Berachain fully compatible with EVM. This upgrade addresses the bottlenecks encountered in V1, ensuring smoother transaction processing. If you want to learn more, please read Dev Bear's technical blog on the topic.
Impact of These Changes on Infrared
The changes introduced in V2 are an important step forward for the network. Berachain V2 will provide a better experience for users, developers, and validator nodes, benefiting the entire ecosystem.
The shift of BGT to a purely economic role enhances the ecosystem built around iBGT by clarifying BGT's value proposition. We have seen many protocols adopt iBGT to build flywheels and expect this trend to continue under the improved BGT design.
Regarding the BERA staking of validator nodes, we are planning some exciting developments that we will share with everyone soon.
What's Next?
We are working hard to complete the new, public Infrared testnet deployment and hope to launch it for users and partners as soon as possible.
