An update caused the Dash blockchain to stop working for almost a day. What happened and are there any consequences for users?
Dash blockchain stopped producing blocks for a day
The problem was reported by Samuel Westrich, CTO of Dash Core Group, which maintains the blockchain. On Twitter, he explained that the problem occurred when Dash Core version 19 was activated:
There was a problem during v19 activation of Dash Core. The chain is stalled and currently not producing blocks. We have everyone investigating the issue. I will continue with updates on Twitter as we have more information.
– Samuel Westrich (@SamWestrich) May 22, 2023
As a result,
Dash stopped producing blocks for almost a day. Faced with the problem, the developers weighed up several options, and decided that they needed more time to complete the update safely. The problem has therefore been resolved temporarily, but the update has been postponed until 14 June.
According to Reddit users, the problem was caused by the migration of certain Masternodes. Miners trying to process linked transactions were unable to proceed with mining, which caused the blockchain to come to a temporary halt. Since the patch was deployed, Dash Core Group teams have confirmed that enough Masternodes and miners have upgraded:
Allnodes has successfully updated @Dashpay Masternodes to version 19.1.0. No action is required by our users. This is a hot fix aimed to fix the chain halt and delaying v19 hard fork until June 14, 2023.
⚙️ Release: https://t.co/vsLrTmxMnQ
ℹ️ Highlights: https://t.co/clbP50BE6V https://t.co/SDEa2fgyYR pic.twitter.com/CMT6JckRO4– Allnodes (@Allnodes) May 22, 2023
According to the developers, the problem caused a temporary separation of the string :
“The chain appears to have split, with some nodes able to continue past block 1874880 and others still stuck at block 1874879. “
Between 10% and 20% of the network could have gone beyond this block, creating temporary uncertainty about which version of the blockchain was the correct version.
A hard fork caused this forced pause
As several commentators have pointed out, this is the first time the Dash blockchain has been at a standstill for more than six years. Binance had to temporarily suspend the distribution of mining rewards from its pool, a distribution that has since resumed. This was partly due to the scale of the update. It required a hard fork, as it introduces new node types.
Dash’s new Masternodes will require larger amounts of collateral to be put into play. In addition, they will carry more weight when it comes to managing the network. Other changes have also been planned, including the integration of certain technical features initially applied to Bitcoin.
Long regarded as a major network in the world of cryptocurrencies, Dash is now often relegated to the ranks of the “ancestors” of cryptocurrencies, which had their moment of glory in the run-up to 2020. Today, the project is struggling to generate enthusiasm, so a temporary halt to the blockchain is particularly damaging.
