Consensus

Trayon uses a modified Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) protocol, requiring a 2/3 + 1 quorum among 1,000+ staked validators, with BLS signature aggregation for compact, efficient proofs of agreement.

Consensus round (12 seconds)

T+0s   Block Proposal
       Sequencer proposes a batch (txs, state root, timestamp)
       and broadcasts it to all validators.

T+4s   Validation Phase
       Validators independently execute the batch, compute a
       local state root, and vote APPROVE / REJECT.

T+8s   Quorum Check
       Sequencer collects votes, requires 2/3 + 1 validators,
       aggregates signatures with BLS, and broadcasts commit.

T+12s  Finality
       Block is finalized. State update becomes immutable.
       Validator reputations are updated.

BLS signature aggregation

Rather than storing every individual validator signature on-chain, Trayon aggregates BLS signatures into a single 48-byte proof — regardless of how many validators signed. This keeps on-chain verification cheap while still cryptographically proving that a 2/3 + 1 quorum approved the block.

Slashing conditions

Slashed TRAY is burned rather than redistributed, reinforcing the network's deflationary token model. See TRAY Tokenomics for details.

Validator reputation

Each validator carries a reputation score (0–100) that increases with consistent, correct participation and decreases after slashing events. Reputation influences validator selection weight in future rounds but does not replace stake-based security.

Staking mechanics

Locking TRAY as a validator serves three purposes: earning block rewards (~8% APY), collecting a share of data-query fees, and gaining voting weight in DAO governance.

Validator stake model
  Initial stake:   32,000 TRAY (minimum)
  Annual rewards:  ~2,560 TRAY (≈8% APY)
  Lock period:     3–12 months, variable by commitment tier
  Unstake delay:   3 days (security window against rapid exits)

A worked slashing example — a validator caught submitting provably false data loses 50% of stake:

Validator stake:  32,000 TRAY
Infraction:       False data (data integrity slash)
Slashing rate:    50%
Penalty:          16,000 TRAY burned
Remaining stake:  16,000 TRAY
Result:           Removed from the active set (below 32,000 minimum)

ZK-proof generation & L1 settlement

Once a batch is finalized on Layer 2, the sequencer generates a succinct ZK-SNARK proof attesting that the state transition is valid, then submits it to a settlement contract on Ethereum L1:

Trayon L2 block
├─ State root (Merkle)
├─ Transaction batch
├─ Data commitments
└─ Validator signatures (BLS-aggregated)
      │
      ▼
ZK-Prover (off-chain)
├─ Generates SNARK circuit
├─ Proves "valid state transition"
├─ ~5–10 minutes per batch
└─ Output: π proof (288 bytes)
      │
      ▼
Settlement contract (Ethereum L1)
├─ Verifies π proof in ~200ms
├─ Updates the L1 merkle root
└─ Emits StateCommitted event

// Ethereum L1 settlement contract (simplified)
contract TrayonSettlement {
    bytes32 public latestStateRoot;
    uint256 public batchHeight;

    function submitBatch(
        bytes32 stateRoot,
        bytes calldata zkProof,
        uint256 height
    ) external {
        require(msg.sender == sequencer, "unauthorized");
        require(verifyZKProof(zkProof, stateRoot), "invalid proof");

        latestStateRoot = stateRoot;
        batchHeight = height;
        emit BatchSettled(height, stateRoot);
    }
}

Settlement schedule

Once finalized on L1, a batch is irreversible — this is the point at which Trayon's data commitments inherit Ethereum's full security guarantees.