- Cardano’s blockchain split into two ledgers due to a malformed transaction causing a validation flaw.
- A user on X admitted responsibility, citing negligence rather than malicious intent.
- Intersect confirmed no user funds were lost and urged node operators to update their software.
- Charles Hoskinson described the event as a premeditated attack targeting Input/Output Global (IOG) and affecting all Cardano users.
On Friday, the Cardano blockchain experienced a chain split after a malformed delegation transaction triggered a software validation flaw. This divergence resulted in two separate ledgers as some nodes accepted the transaction while older versions rejected it, creating network disruption.
According to an incident report by Intersect, the governance organization for Cardano, the issue stemmed from a bug in an underlying software library. This bug was not detected by validation checks, causing part of the network to build blocks including the malformed transaction while others continued on a different branch. The event caused the blockchain to split into a “poisoned” chain and a “healthy” one.
Earlier, Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson posted on X describing the incident as a “premeditated attack from a disgruntled [stake pool operator]” aiming to harm IOG‘s brand and reputation. Hoskinson stated that all Cardano users were affected and the token ADA’s price dropped over 6% following the incident.
Hours later, a user under the name Homer J. took responsibility on X for submitting the problematic transaction. He apologized to the Cardano community, explaining that he attempted to reproduce the “bad transaction” as a personal challenge and relied on AI-generated guidance. He emphasized that he did not intend harm, did not trade ADA for profit, and acted alone.
Intersect said the wallet behind the malformed transaction is identified and described potential links to an earlier phase of the network called the Incentivized Testnet (ITN). The organization reported that law enforcement, including the FBI, is involved to investigate the incident as a probable cyberattack on a digital network.
Despite the disruption, Intersect confirmed no user funds were lost during the event. Most retail wallets were unaffected since they ran node software versions that handled the malformed transaction safely. According to Intersect, exchanges and third-party providers paused deposits and withdrawals temporarily to maintain ledger integrity, although block production continued uninterrupted on both chains.
Hoskinson reiterated in a video that the network never stalled, but acknowledged user issues occurred until the corrected node software was deployed. The community has been urged to upgrade their nodes to fully rejoin the main chain and restore normal operations.
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