Cardano released new details after a malformed transaction caused a temporary chain partition on the network. The ecosystem pushed swift upgrades to restore consensus, while Charles Hoskinson urged the community to stay unified during the incident.
Chain Partition Triggered by Malformed Transaction
Cardano developers confirmed that today’s disruption came from a malformed transaction that exposed a bug in a core software library. The fault caused the network to split into competing chains, slowing block production and creating visible delays across services.
At the same time, Stake Pool Operators (SPOs) reported divergence in block histories, prompting immediate coordination among engineering teams and ecosystem contributors. The split increased the urgency for a synchronized fix as nodes running older versions struggled to converge.
Intersect, the Cardano member-based organization, said upgrades to node versions 10.5.2 and 10.5.3 began restoring full network alignment. They emphasized that the healthy chain is already becoming dominant as operators adopt the updated software.
Cardano Mainnet Incident Update. Source: Intersect / X
Coordinated Response Pushes Network Toward Full Recovery
According to Intersect, ecosystem teams mobilized quickly once the partition appeared. Engineers, SPOs, exchanges, and infrastructure providers coordinated in real time to stabilize the chain and ensure the patched clients were deployed across major operators.
A dedicated working group is now reconciling ledger discrepancies and validating block histories as part of the stabilization effort. Their goal is to confirm full convergence across all nodes before issuing a detailed after-action review.
Intersect stated that the initial report is already available, noting that further technical detail will follow once data reconciliation and reliability checks are complete.
Hoskinson Urges Calm and Unity After Overnight Incident
Charles Hoskinson addressed the community at around 3 a.m., calling for unity during what he described as a serious but recoverable event. He acknowledged the stress on operators but stressed that Cardano’s resilience depends on cooperation during moments of pressure.
In his remarks, Hoskinson said Cardano “is not going to fail” and emphasized that the ecosystem has repeatedly shown the ability to recover from unexpected setbacks. He pointed to the rapid response from engineers and contributors as proof of the network’s core strength.
Charles Hoskinson Unity Call. Source: ALLINCRYPTO / X
However, he noted that long-term success is not guaranteed and must be earned daily. He said progress requires “a positive attitude and a genuine belief” that the ecosystem can work through disagreements and philosophical differences to achieve shared goals.
Cardano Community Rallies as Full AAR Expected
Intersect thanked SPOs, exchanges, and community contributors for responding quickly under pressure. They said the collaborative effort demonstrated the network’s maturity and capacity to handle disruptive events.
The organization also confirmed that a comprehensive after-action review will be published once all technical evaluations are finalized. It will outline the root cause, the system behavior, and the steps taken to prevent similar incidents.
For now, developers continue monitoring the upgraded nodes as the patched chain becomes fully dominant. The ecosystem expects normal operations to resume as convergence finalizes.
