QRL 2.0's Proof-of-Stake runs to a strict clock kept by the beacon chain. Two units define that clock: slots and epochs. Getting them straight makes validator and consensus data on this explorer far easier to read.
Slots: the 60-second heartbeat
Time on QRL 2.0 is chopped into slots of 60 seconds. In each slot:
- exactly one validator is chosen to propose a block, and
- a committee of validators attests (votes) on what they see.
If the chosen proposer is offline or misses its turn, the slot can simply be empty — there's no block for that slot. That's normal, especially on a quiet test network, and it's why block heights and slot numbers aren't always one-to-one.
Epochs: 128 slots at a time
Slots are grouped into epochs of 128 slots. At 60 seconds per slot, that's:
128 slots × 60 seconds = 7,680 seconds ≈ 2.1 hours per epoch
Epochs are the bookkeeping unit of Proof-of-Stake. At epoch boundaries the protocol:
- assigns validator duties for the coming period,
- tallies attestations, and
- advances finality — the point at which past blocks become effectively irreversible.
A note for the technically curious: QRL 2.0's epoch length (128 slots) and slot time (60 seconds) differ from Ethereum's (32 slots × 12 seconds ≈ 6.4 minutes). So a QRL 2.0 epoch is roughly two hours, not a few minutes. Don't assume Ethereum's numbers carry over.
What the beacon chain does
The beacon chain is the consensus layer that runs this clock. On QRL 2.0 it's operated by the qrysm client (a fork of Ethereum's Prysm). Its responsibilities:
- maintain the validator registry — who's active, their stake, their keys,
- schedule which validator proposes and which committees attest each slot,
- process attestations and drive finality, and
- record validator-affecting events like slashings.
The beacon chain works alongside the gqrl execution layer, which handles the actual transactions and balances. Consensus on one side, execution on the other.
Seeing it on the explorer
Quantascan indexes the beacon chain directly, so you can browse beacon blocks, the validators registry, and epochs. When you see a slot with no block, that's an empty slot — expected behaviour, not an error.
Where to go next
- Validators and staking — who fills these slots.
- Withdrawals explained — how validator rewards are paid.
- Proof-of-Stake on QRL 2.0 — the bigger picture.