A routing glitch at a major data center provider knocked nearly 29% of Solana's staked tokens offline on Wednesday, bringing the network within striking distance of a full freeze, according to Marinade Finance. Solana Foundation executives stressed that blocks and transactions never stopped.
A close call for the network
The glitch, which originated at the data center provider, caused a significant portion of the network's staked tokens to go offline. Marinade Finance, a liquid staking protocol on Solana, said the network nearly froze. The incident left the blockchain within striking distance of a complete halt, though the foundation maintains that the core functions continued.
Foundation: blocks never stopped
Solana Foundation executives emphasized that blocks and transactions never stopped during the episode. That distinction matters: a full freeze would have meant no new blocks, no transaction processing, and potentially a chain halt. Instead, the network kept producing blocks, even as a large share of staked tokens were unreachable.
What the glitch means for stakers
For stakers, the immediate concern is whether their tokens were affected and whether rewards will be impacted. The data center provider's routing issue took nearly 29% of staked tokens offline, which could have implications for network security and consensus. The incident raises questions about the resilience of Solana's infrastructure, particularly its reliance on third-party data centers.
Whether the network's operators will address the underlying vulnerability remains an open question. Marinade Finance did not say when the staked tokens were fully restored, and Solana Foundation has not announced any changes to its infrastructure.
