Censorship Resistance
How Xhavic prevents transaction censorship — force-include via L1, sequencer penalties, and data availability guarantees.
Xhavic implements multiple mechanisms to ensure no single entity can permanently censor transactions, even during the Alpha phase when a single centralized sequencer operates the network.
Threat Model
| Threat | Mitigation |
|---|---|
| Sequencer censors transaction | Force-include via L1 |
| Sequencer ignores forced inclusion | Stake slashing + reward loss + suspension |
| Sequencer goes offline | Rotation and slashing |
| Data withholding | All data posted to Ethereum calldata |
Force-Include via L1
If the sequencer censors a transaction, users can submit it directly to the Ethereum L1 CanonicalTransactionChain contract. This bypasses the sequencer entirely.
The sequencer is contractually obligated to include force-included transactions within the allowed time window. If the sequencer fails to include a force-included transaction:
- Stake slashing — Economic penalty applied to sequencer’s staked XHAV
- Loss of sequencing rewards — Revenue from block production is forfeited
- Temporary suspension — Removed from the sequencing role for a defined period
- Permanent removal (future phases) — Removed from the validator set entirely
Data Availability
Transaction data is posted to Ethereum calldata, ensuring:
- Full state reconstruction — Anyone can reconstruct the complete Xhavic state from L1 data in 5-10 minutes
- No data withholding — The sequencer cannot hide transactions or state changes
- Validator redundancy — Multiple validator nodes maintain independent off-chain copies
Fraud Proof Protection
Any participant can submit a fraud proof within the 7-day challenge window if they detect incorrect execution:
- If the proof demonstrates incorrect execution, the faulty batch is reverted
- The correct state is restored
- The sequencer is economically penalized (slashing)
- Only one honest validator is needed to secure the entire network
Current Sequencer Model
During the Alpha phase (v1), the sequencer is a single centralized system operated by the Xhavic Foundation. This maximizes throughput and reduces complexity during early network development.
The decentralization roadmap progresses through:
| Phase | Architecture | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha (v1) | Single centralized sequencer (Xhavic Foundation) | Current |
| Beta | Multi-sequencer with stake-weighted rotation | Planned |
| Production | Fully decentralized sequencer set from validator pool | Planned |