Slashing and Risk Mitigation FAQS
1. What is the minimum amount required to stake?
The minimum amount required to stake is 0.005 BTC.
2. Will Babylon rewards start accumulating immediately?
Yes, Babylon points will begin accumulating immediately after staking is confirmed (approximately 10 blocks or ~100 minutes).
3. Where can I view my Babylon rewards?
You can view your Babylon points under the Staking tab on Hex Safe.
4. Can I unbond (unstake) my BTC at any time?
Yes, you can unbond (unstake) your BTC on demand, at any time before its 64,000-block (~15 months) expiration. However, there will be an on-chain unbonding (unstaking) period of 1,008 Bitcoin blocks (~7 days) before you can redeem your BTC.
5. Are Hex Safe Vaults linked to the points earned?
Yes, your Babylon points are directly linked to your Hex Safe Vault.
6. Is there any systemic risk to the principal?
Deploying digital assets through novel applications carries inherent risks that should be carefully assessed by the asset owner. We strongly recommend reviewing the technical documentation published by the Babylon team and conducting your own research before staking your BTC. For more information, visit Babylon Labs.
7. Will I need to sign any paperwork?
No, you simply need to accept the Staking Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) on the platform.
8. Will monthly statements include details about staked balances and accrued earnings/points?
Yes, your monthly statements will include details about your staked balance and accrued earnings/points.
9. How can I find a complete guide to staking, unbonding (unstaking), and redeeming on Babylon via Hex Safe?
For a complete guide, click here.
Slashing & Risk Mitigation
10. Does slashing exist on Babylon?
While slashing did not exist in Phase-1, Phase-2 of Babylon introduces slashing as part of the staking mechanism. For detailed information, please refer to the Babylon documentation.
11. How can my assets be slashed on Babylon?
Slashing can occur if the Finality Provider (FP) you delegate to violates the protocol’s rules — for example, by double-signing the same block. In such cases, a portion of the delegated stake, including yours, may be subject to slashing. For detailed information, please refer to the Babylon documentation.
12. What does Hex Trust do to prevent slashing?
Key measures include:
- No private keys reused across multiple machines.
- Manual failover process to prevent accidental double signing.
- Continuous monitoring via Grafana, Prometheus, and PagerDuty.
- Official Babylon software only, with no modifications.
- A 24/7 infrastructure team ready for rapid response.
13. Has Hex Trust ever been slashed?
No. Across all protocols, Hex Trust maintains a zero slashing record and consistently achieves 99.9%+ uptime.
14. How quickly can Hex Trust recover in the event of an issue?
In simulated failover scenarios, Hex Trust averages a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of ~15 minutes. No real incident has required activation to date.
15. What happens if there is a technical issue or downtime?
Hex Trust’s infrastructure is continuously monitored, and the incident management process ensures rapid troubleshooting, safe manual failovers, and post-incident reviews for continuous improvement.