Remove Validator

Removing a PoS Validator

Removing a validator in a PoS setup returns the staked tokens plus any earned staking rewards. Only the owner of the validation period (the address that initiated it) can remove the validator, and only after the minimum stake duration has elapsed.

Phase 1: Initiation (L1)

The validator owner calls initiateValidatorRemoval(validationID) on the Staking Manager contract.

Under the hood, the contract:

• Verifies the caller is the validation period owner
• Ensures the minimum stake duration has passed
• An uptime proof may optionally be provided to determine reward eligibility
• Sets the validator status to PendingRemoved
• Constructs a weight message with weight = 0 (removal is encoded as a weight update to zero)
• Sends a Warp message to the P-Chain

Phase 2: P-Chain Processing

The weight update message (weight = 0) is signed and submitted to the P-Chain as a SetL1ValidatorWeightTx:

1. Aggregate signatures for the weight update
2. Submit to the P-Chain
3. The P-Chain removes the validator and acknowledges with a signed L1ValidatorRegistrationMessage with valid = false

Phase 3: Completion (L1)

Call completeValidatorRemoval(messageIndex) with the P-Chain's signed response:

• Verifies the Warp message and valid == false
• Calculates staking rewards based on uptime
• Returns the staked tokens to the validator owner
• Distributes validator rewards (minted via Native Minter precompile for native token staking)
• Sets the status to Completed
• Emits CompletedValidatorRemoval

Claiming Delegation Fees

Delegation fees earned by the validator are not distributed during completeValidatorRemoval to bound gas consumption. Instead, the validator must call claimDelegationFees(validationID) separately after the validation period ends.

Minimum Stake Duration

The minimum stake duration is set by the validator when they register. The validator cannot initiate removal until this duration has elapsed since the validation period started.

canRemove = block.timestamp >= startTime + minStakeDuration

Appendix: PoS Validator Removal Flow