Cardano Crisis: AI Command Network Forked, FBI Investigation

Over the weekend, the Cardano network experienced serious disruptions due to a chain split triggered by a faulty transaction resulting from an artificial intelligence command. This crisis drew the attention of ADA investors and led to volatility in the markets.

When looking at how the incident developed, the Cardano ecosystem faced an unexpected situation on Saturday. The network's old and new nodes evaluated the faulty transaction differently, leading to the creation of two separate chains. Block producers began to follow different ledgers, resulting in confusion. Fortunately, developer teams intervened with emergency updates before this situation turned into a critical failure.

According to a report published by Intersect, the source of the problem stemmed from a faulty transaction accepted by newer nodes. The old software's rejection of this transaction correctly resulted in the split of the network. Developers immediately released patched versions and instructed all validators to reconnect to the main chain of the network. During this process, major exchanges took precautions by halting ADA deposits and withdrawals. Coinbase suspended transactions for about 14 hours, while other platforms implemented shorter transaction halts.

The situation became more complicated in DeFi protocols. Some smart contracts operated on one chain while related transactions fell onto the other chain, creating serious inconsistencies. Following the development of the incident, a user named Homer J took responsibility for the split and apologized. According to his statement, he tried to reproduce the faulty transaction while working with terminal commands suggested by artificial intelligence and did not realize the magnitude of the consequences.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson characterized the situation as a personal attack, stating that the matter was being investigated by the FBI. Following this announcement, a developer from the IOG team resigned out of concern that the events could lead to legal issues in the future.

During the incident, the ADA price experienced a decline of up to 16%, positioning it among the largest assets that lost value in the market. The Cardano team indicates that it may take a few weeks for the network to return to complete normalcy. Critical levels and developments that investors need to monitor closely will affect their investment decisions.