Cardano Crisis: AI Command Network Forked, FBI Investigation

Over the weekend, the Cardano network experienced significant disruptions due to a blockchain split triggered by a faulty transaction caused by an artificial intelligence command. This crisis drew the attention of ADA investors and led to fluctuations in the markets.

Looking at how the incident unfolded, the Cardano ecosystem faced an unexpected situation on Saturday. The network's old and new nodes interpreted the faulty transaction differently, leading to the creation of two separate chains. Block producers began to track different ledgers, causing confusion. Fortunately, before this situation escalated into a critical failure, the development teams intervened with emergency updates.

According to a report published by Intersect, the source of the problem stemmed from a faulty transaction accepted by the newer nodes. The old software correctly rejected this transaction, which led to the network splitting. The developers quickly released patched versions and instructed all validators to reconnect to the main chain. During this process, major exchanges took precautions by halting ADA deposit and withdrawal transactions. Coinbase suspended transactions for about 14 hours, while other platforms imposed shorter transaction stoppages.

The situation became even more complicated within DeFi protocols. Some smart contracts worked on one chain while related transactions fell on another chain, creating serious inconsistencies. In light of the developments, a user named Homer J stated that he was responsible for the split and apologized. According to his expression, he tried to reproduce the faulty transaction while working with terminal commands suggested by artificial intelligence and did not realize the extent of the consequences.

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, characterized the situation as a personal attack, reporting that the issue was being investigated by the FBI. Following this statement, a developer from the IOG team resigned, expressing concerns that the events could lead to legal issues in the future.

During the incident, ADA saw a decline of up to 16%, making it one of the largest assets to lose value in the market. The Cardano team indicated that it could take several weeks for the network to return to a fully normal state. Critical levels and developments that investors need to closely monitor will influence investment decisions.