QRL 2.0 is a proof of stake network. A set of validators takes turns proposing blocks and voting on them, and the chain's clock is divided into slots and epochs. Once you understand those three ideas, every number on the ZondScan validators dashboard and epoch browser starts to make sense.

This article explains what a validator actually does, how slots and epochs structure time on the beacon chain, how a validator moves through its lifecycle from activation to exit, and how rewards reach a regular address. Along the way you will see exactly where each piece of data lives on ZondScan.

If you are new to the chain itself, read What is QRL 2.0? first. Everything below applies to the current public testnet, where coins have no monetary value.

What a validator does

QRL 2.0 splits work across two layers. The execution layer, gqrl, descends from go-ethereum: it runs EVM transactions and smart contracts. The consensus layer is a beacon chain run by qrysm, a fork of Prysm. Validators live on the consensus layer, and they have two jobs:

Proposing. For each slot, the protocol selects one validator to build and sign the block for that slot. If the proposer is offline or late, the slot simply passes with no block.
Attesting. All other active validators regularly vote on what they believe the head of the chain is. These attestations are aggregated and eventually make blocks final.

Both duties are backed by stake. Honest, timely work earns rewards. Going offline costs a little. Provably signing contradictory messages costs a lot, as covered below.

Slots and epochs

A slot is the smallest unit of time on the beacon chain: one opportunity for one proposer to publish one block. On QRL 2.0 a slot lasts 60 seconds. An epoch groups 128 consecutive slots, so one epoch takes 128 minutes, a little over two hours. Validator duties are shuffled and assigned per epoch, and the validator set itself only changes at epoch boundaries.

Epochs are also the unit of finality. Through accumulated attestations, a recent epoch checkpoint first becomes justified and then finalized. Finalized blocks are permanent: reverting them would require a large share of all staked Quanta to be destroyed. ZondScan shows the current head epoch, the justified epoch, and the finalized epoch at the top of the validators page, along with a live progress bar counting slots toward the next epoch. The epoch list labels each epoch as finalized, justified, or pending.

Open any single epoch and you get its full 128-slot table: which slots got a block, which were missed, and for each proposed block the transaction count and gas used. A missed slot is ordinary network life; a validator that misses many of its assignments will show up with weak participation over time.

Post-quantum validator keys

Every duty a validator performs is a signature, so the signature scheme is the security foundation of the whole system. QRL 2.0 validators sign with ML-DSA-87, the lattice based scheme standardized in NIST FIPS 204 and better known by its research name CRYSTALS-Dilithium. The legacy QRL chain uses XMSS, a stateful hash based scheme from RFC 8391. Both are designed to withstand attacks from quantum computers; Why QRL is built for the quantum era explains the threat model in depth.

One practical consequence is key size. An ML-DSA-87 public key is 2,592 bytes, which is why ZondScan collapses the public key field on validator detail pages behind an expandable view.

The validator lifecycle

A validator passes through a well defined sequence of epochs, and ZondScan renders the whole timeline on each validator's detail page:

Activation eligibility.The epoch at which the validator's deposit was recognized and it joined the activation queue.
Activation. The epoch it entered the active set and began receiving duties. From here ZondScan counts its age in epochs and days.
Exit.The epoch it leaves the active set, either voluntarily or by force. For a healthy running validator this shows as "Not scheduled".
Withdrawable. The epoch after exit at which the remaining stake becomes available for withdrawal.

From these epochs ZondScan derives one of four statuses for every validator: active, pending (deposited, waiting for activation), exited, or slashed.

Each validator also carries an effective balance: a smoothed, whole-Quanta measure of its stake that the protocol uses for duty weighting and rewards. In the current network configuration it is capped at 40,000 Quanta, so a validator at full weight has 40,000 Quanta at stake. If a validator's balance decays below 20,000 Quanta, the protocol ejects it from the active set.

Slashingis the penalty for provable misbehavior. If a validator signs two different blocks for the same slot, or signs contradictory attestations, those signatures are cryptographic evidence anyone can submit on chain. The protocol destroys part of the offender's stake and forces an exit. Slashed validators are flagged with their own badge on the validators dashboard.

Rewards and withdrawals

Rewards for timely attestations and proposals accrue to the validator's balance on the beacon chain. Payout happens through protocol level withdrawals: the network periodically sweeps balance above the effective balance cap to the validator's registered withdrawal address, and after a validator exits and reaches its withdrawable epoch, the full remaining stake is paid out the same way. Withdrawals are a built in protocol operation, so there is no claim transaction to send.

The withdrawal address is an ordinary Q-prefixed account. ZondScan decodes it from the validator's withdrawal credentials and links it directly on the detail page, so you can follow rewards landing on a normal address page. All amounts display in Quanta; see Quanta, Shor and Planck for how the units relate.

Follow it all on ZondScan

Open the validators dashboard
Go to zondscan.com/validators. The top panel shows the current epoch and slot, the finalized and justified epochs, and a countdown to the next epoch. Below it, stat cards break the validator set into total, active, pending, exited, and slashed, next to the total staked amount in Quanta.
Inspect a single validator
Click a validator's index number in the table below the charts. The detail page shows the validator's status, effective balance, age, ML-DSA-87 public key, withdrawal credentials with the decoded withdrawal address, and the full epoch timeline from activation eligibility to withdrawable.
Browse epochs
Open the epoch list to see recent epochs with their finality status, validator counts, and total stake.
Drill into one epoch
Click an epoch number to open its detail page: a summary of proposed versus missed slots plus the full slot-by-slot table, with each proposed block linking to the block and its transactions.

FAQ

How long is an epoch on QRL 2.0?

One epoch is 128 slots of 60 seconds each, which works out to 128 minutes, or 2 hours and 8 minutes. The validators page shows a live countdown to the next epoch boundary.

Do I need to run a validator to earn staking rewards?

No. QuantaPool provides liquid staking on the testnet: you stake Quanta through the pool, receive a liquid staking token, and track your position on ZondScan.

What does the slashed status mean?

The validator was caught signing contradictory messages, such as two different blocks for the same slot. The protocol destroyed part of its stake and forced it out of the active set. Slashing punishes provable misbehavior; simply being offline only causes small inactivity penalties.

Why does a validator show "Not scheduled" for its exit epoch?

The protocol represents "no exit requested" with a far-future epoch value. ZondScan renders that as Not scheduled, which means the validator is expected to keep operating indefinitely.

Where do validator rewards actually arrive?

At the validator's withdrawal address, a normal Q-prefixed account. ZondScan links it from each validator detail page, and the incoming protocol withdrawals appear on that address like any other balance change, denominated in Quanta.