Will incorporating Layer 2 participants into AVSs increase or mitigate Layer 1 validator slashing risks? It primarily increases L1 validator slashing risks by adding a new, complex failure domain. An AVS that tasks L1 validators with verifying L2 state (e.g., as a fallback to optimistic rollups) makes those validators responsible for the correctness of L2 execution. A bug in the L2 verification logic, or a sophisticated fraud proof that tricks a majority of validators, could cause them to incorrectly slash an honest L2 sequencer or, worse, cause a split on L1 itself. It effectively imports the risk of the L2's novel consensus and execution environment directly onto the L1 validator set, creating a new vector for correlated slashing that did not previously exist.
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Will incorporating Layer 2 participants into AVSs increase or mitigate Layer 1 validator slashing risks? This is a double-edged sword. Mitigation could occur if L2s, with their faster finality and different trust assumptions, are used as a "court of appeal" or a data availability layer for slashing disputes, adding a layer of scrutiny. However, the more likely outcome is an increase in risk. Incorporating L2s adds immense complexity and new dependencies. A consensus failure or a bug on an L2 could force L1 validators of an AVS to make an incorrect decision, leading to an L1 slash. It effectively imports the risk profile of the L2 onto the L1 validator set, creating a new vector for correlated failures across the layered scaling ecosystem.
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It depends on the integration model. If L2s offload execution risk to dedicated sequencers or fraud-proof verifiers, L1 validators may see reduced risk. However, if L1 validators are required to validate L2 state assertions, generate ZK proofs, or handle data availability, this expands the slashing surface. Cross-layer execution dependencies can introduce slashing coupling, especially when AVSs span both L1 and L2 environments. Additionally, upgrades or failures at the L2 level can trickle back to L1 validators, unless strong isolation and fail-safe mechanisms are in place.
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