On QRL 2.0 you'll see a kind of value movement that doesn't exist on QRL Legacy and isn't an ordinary transaction: a withdrawal. Understanding it explains a lot of what shows up on a quiet Proof-of-Stake network.
What a withdrawal is
A withdrawal is a validator-reward payout that the protocol itself applies, following the Ethereum design known as EIP-4895. Rather than a validator sending themselves a transaction, the protocol periodically credits validators' balances directly as part of block processing.
Withdrawals are how validators actually receive the rewards they earn for proposing and attesting blocks.
Why it isn't a transaction
A withdrawal looks like value moving, but it is fundamentally different from a transaction:
| Transaction | Withdrawal | |
|---|---|---|
| Created by | A user (signed) | The protocol (automatic) |
| Signature | Required | None |
| Fee | Paid in gas | None |
| Purpose | Move value / run a contract | Pay validator rewards |
Because it has no sender and no fee, a withdrawal doesn't fit the transaction model — so Quantascan indexes withdrawals as their own layer, separate from transactions, each tied to a block and a validator.
Why they dominate a testnet
On a busy network, user transactions vastly outnumber withdrawals. But QRL 2.0 currently runs as a test network with sparse activity — few people are transacting. Validators, however, are rewarded continuously. The result is that withdrawals can be the dominant flow of value on the chain.
This is why supply and value-flow views on this explorer treat withdrawals as a first-class source of new value on QRL 2.0, rather than an afterthought. It also matters for tokenomics: on QRL 2.0, issuance shows up through staking rewards and withdrawals, not through mining.
Seeing them on the explorer
The rewards page lists validator-reward withdrawals, and each validator's detail view ties its received withdrawals into its totals. If a validator's balance grew without any incoming transaction, a withdrawal is usually why.
Where to go next
- Validators and staking — who earns these rewards.
- QRL tokenomics and supply — how issuance works across both chains.
- Slots, epochs and the beacon chain — the consensus timing behind rewards.