Core DAO is coordinating an emergency hard fork after saying a small group of validators received CORE rewards above the blockchain’s intended issuance. The project said the problem has been contained and that the response will be carried out as a forward-only upgrade rather than a rollback of the chain.
The incident has led several exchanges to restrict CORE-related transfers while the network response is underway. Core DAO has said confirmed transactions will remain unchanged and that user assets are safe, framing the issue as one tied to validator rewards rather than custody or broader asset security.
What Core DAO says happened
According to Core DAO, the issue allowed a limited number of validators to obtain rewards in excess of what the network was designed to issue. The project has not disclosed the exact amount of excess CORE involved, how many validators were affected, how long the activity lasted, or whether any of those additional tokens entered circulation.
Core DAO said the issue is now contained and that the validators involved can no longer continue drawing excess rewards. A full technical postmortem is expected after the incident response is finished.
Why the network is forking
The planned hard fork is described as a forward upgrade intended to install a permanent fix. Core DAO said the move will not rewind the blockchain and will not reverse transactions that have already been confirmed on-chain.
That distinction is central to the project’s public explanation of the response. Rather than rewriting past records, the fork is meant to change protocol rules from a certain point onward, leaving existing confirmed activity intact.
Exchange restrictions follow the incident
As the investigation and upgrade coordination continue, several exchanges have restricted CORE transfers. Some platforms halted deposits and withdrawals, while others limited transfers, reflecting caution around the ongoing network issue.
Core DAO has maintained that user assets were not directly affected. Its statements have emphasized that the problem centered on validator reward issuance and did not involve asset custody or a breach of wallet security.
What remains unclear
Important details about the episode have not yet been made public. Core DAO has not fully disclosed validator participation in the emergency upgrade or any software requirements tied to the fork.
That leaves several practical and technical questions unanswered for now, including the scale of the excess issuance and the full mechanics of the response. The next confirmed step is the completion of the forward-only hard fork, followed by the technical postmortem Core DAO said it will publish once the response process is complete.
Source: crypto.news