Sentinels

Sentinels are independent security operators that check proposed Safe transactions against the Safenet Charter. Their checks determine whether Safenet considers a transaction secure, insecure, or requires arbitration. Sentinels perform the security checks. They do not produce Validator attestations or enforce transactions onchain. Interested in operating a Sentinel? Reach out.

​

Sentinel responsibilities

For each supported transaction, Sentinels:

• Evaluate the same exact Safe transaction.
• Apply the Charter version in effect when the transaction is proposed.
• Return a secure or insecure result.
• Provide a Charter rule reference when returning insecure.

Sentinels are expected to cover the applicable Safenet Charter rather than choose individual checks to perform. See Safenet checks for the current security scope.

​

Charter and results

Sentinels evaluate transactions independently, but Safenet combines their checks into a network result.

• If all participating Sentinels return secure, the transaction can proceed to Validator attestation.
• If all return insecure, no Validator attestation is produced.
• If Sentinels disagree, the transaction enters arbitration and cannot receive a Validator attestation.
• If a reliable result cannot be produced, the transaction is not treated as secure.

Sentinel agreement applies to the secure or insecure decision. Sentinels do not need to provide identical explanations. See Safenet results for the full result model.

​

Bonds, fees, and accountability

Sentinels post USDC bonds when participating in transaction checks. The bond makes Sentinel decisions economically accountable under the Safenet dispute process. Eligible Sentinels can receive a share of the USDC-denominated transaction-check fee. Bonds may be returned or slashed according to the outcome and applicable protocol rules. The fee amount, DAO fee share, bond parameters, and related settings are Safenet parameters governed by SafeDAO. See Fees for the current fee and bond model.

​

Who can participate

The active Sentinel set is governed by Safenet rather than determined by any single operator. Prospective Sentinels should be able to:

• Reliably evaluate the full applicable Charter scope.
• Operate the required checking infrastructure.
• Maintain sufficient availability to participate in checks.
• Accept the bond and accountability requirements of the protocol.

Sentinel operators must remain independent from Safenet’s arbitration role to avoid conflicts of interest. See Governance for how participant selection and changes to the Sentinel set are governed.

​

Become a Sentinel

Organizations interested in operating a Sentinel can reach out to discuss participation and onboarding.