Cardano Founder Refutes Network Failure Claims Amid Community Concerns

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has responded to growing concerns and speculation following a recent slowdown in the network, pushing back against rumors that suggested the blockchain had suffered a major failure. Online discussions escalated quickly, prompting Hoskinson to release a verified “Myths vs Facts” incident report to clarify the situation.

According to Hoskinson, the Cardano mainnet never shut down, and its core protocol remained fully intact throughout the event. He urged the community to rely on verifiable facts instead of circulating unconfirmed claims, especially those alleging a chain rollback or that an AI-generated transaction crashed the network. This call for accuracy follows previous instances where Hoskinson had to address misinformation, including false statements about the Cardano treasury.

The official update explained that the issue stemmed from an edge case within the node implementation rather than any flaw in Cardano’s underlying protocol. Stake pool operators, engineers, and crypto exchanges detected the abnormal behavior in real time, enabling a rapid response that kept the network functioning securely despite temporary performance degradation. Teams released patched software within hours, preventing broader disruption.

Hoskinson also detailed how Cardano ecosystem contributors organized a joint incident unit as soon as the slowdown emerged. They coordinated a node update that allowed healthy nodes to outweigh invalid ones through standard Ouroboros consensus, preserving decentralization. This account contrasts with an earlier explanation from Intersect, which described a temporary divergence caused by a poisoned transaction. The latest information emphasized that no centralized rollback occurred, as updates were implemented voluntarily by independent operators.

Speculation that an AI teenager intentionally crashed the network was also dismissed. Authorities were notified solely as part of responsible disclosure procedures. Cardano typically uses bounty channels to handle suspicious activity before it reaches mainnet, and because these channels were bypassed, the event is being treated seriously.

Intersect has committed to conducting a full retrospective, noting that recovery procedures performed as intended and demonstrated Cardano’s ability to coordinate numerous independent operators under pressure.