How to Challenge & Check Tests
Expressing skepticism in an Ante Test for a protocol
If you're skeptical that a protocol's Ante Test will hold, you can challenge that Ante Test.
By challenging an Ante Test, you’re taking the position that the Ante Test can/will fail, which could indicate a vulnerability in the protocol. You will pay a block-by-block decay on your challenged crypto to stakers (~100 gwei per block per ETH, roughly 20% of your challenged crypto per year) but have the potential benefit of a larger bounty if the Ante Test actually fails.
To challenge in an Ante Pool, simply connect your wallet and click the "Challenge" button. Enter the amount you would like to add to the challenge pool and follow your wallet's prompt to submit the transaction. Note that there may be deposit limits.
Technically, when staking crypto behind an Ante Test, you are locking crypto in an intermediate, programmatically-generated non-custodial smart contract called an Ante Pool.
Currently, Ante Pools have limits of how much crypto one can stake or deposit. Over time, the deposit cap may be increased (view schedule).
Unlike staking, there is no unlocking period for withdrawing a challenge. To withdraw your challenge balance, click the "Withdraw Challenge" button in the Action Panel and follow the prompts to withdraw your balance to your wallet.
Once you have challenged a test pool for at least 12 blocks, you are able to trigger the "Check Test" action to see if the test passes or fails.
Verifying an Ante Test costs gas to complete the transaction. Ante takes no fee here.
If the Ante Test passes, it means the underlying protocol invariant still holds. The Ante Pool continues to operate and nothing else changes except that you paid some gas to verify the Ante Test.
If the Ante Test fails, it means the underlying protocol invariant no longer holds and there is likely a fundamental flaw in the protocol as currently implemented. In this scenario, all staker capital is locked and allocated proportionally to be claimable by challengers.
If you were the one who initiated the failed test check, you get an additional bonus equivalent to 5% of the total stake balance. The remaining 95% of the staker funds is distributed to current challengers in the pool based on several factors including the amount challenged and the time a challenge was held.