Second largest cryptocurrency network splits into two chains
2 min readIn the world’s second largest cryptocurrency network, ETH, the chain split, with a software bug affecting a large number of full-node clients. Approximately 54% of the network nodes separated from the core network. In mid-August, the developers discovered the vulnerability and distributed an update called “Hades Gamma” to resolve the issue. However, a large number of clients with full nodes did not use the fix and the network split.
Geth operators forgot to upgrade, the ETH network is divided into two parts
A number of reports and data from analytical web portals show that the ETH blockchain has been split into at least two versions because many of the Geth nodes have not been updated to the correct string and are blocked from the main network. On Friday afternoon, the incident was tweeted by a communication channel on Twitter for the ETH network entitled “Go ETH“.
“The chain has been split on the main ETH network. The problem was solved in the upgrade of version v1.10.8, which was mentioned earlier. Update your nodes if you haven’t already. “
Ethereum developers discovered the bug and subsequently released a fix in mid-August. The fix is called Hades Gamma and it was a “hotfix release that fixes a vulnerability in EVM (CVE-2021-39137)”. Of course, the blockchain fork has provoked much debate in the crypto community. Lucas Nuzzi for example tweeted:
Ethereum has split into at least 2 versions and only a third of Geth nodes are in the “correct” chain. The full impact is unclear at this point, but OpenEthereum may have also been indirectly impacted. Block difficulty has dropped 10% over the past few hours.
Geth clients were told to upgrade before splitting the chain
The old version of the Geth client is used by more than 54% of the nodes of the ETH network. On August 24, the Twitter account Go ETH informed the public about the upgrade and said: “Heads up. Geth v1.10.8 has been released, which fixes security vulnerabilities in all current versions of Geth. All Geth users need to update. Further details will be provided later to prevent attacks on ETH and related projects. “
ETH is not the only one: the bug can affect other chains, including Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Polygon and DAI.
Yearn Finance creator Andre Cronje also spoke about the situation on Twitter. “Fork between the newest Geth and the older Geth on the mainnet. Stay away from making transactions for a while if you’re not sure they’re going through the latest Geth. Go for a walk outside, we all need it. “
