Harmony Proposes Blockchain Shutdown and Migration to Ethereum

Harmony is pivoting away from its independent blockchain roots, proposing a complete shutdown of its network in favor of a migration to Ethereum. This sudden reversal comes just weeks after the project executed a controversial chain rollback to recover from a massive minting exploit, signaling a definitive end to the embattled protocol’s sovereign infrastructure.

From Recovery to Retirement

The decision to retire the blockchain follows a series of devastating security breaches that have severely weakened the network's stability and market value. Most recently, an August 11 exploit allowed attackers to forge transactions and mint approximately 3.01 trillion unauthorized ONE tokens. While Harmony initially attempted to preserve the network through a significant rollback on August 21—effectively erasing over 109,000 transactions—the project now cites the overwhelming threats posed by state-sponsored actors and advanced AI agents as reasons to abandon its own chain. This move marks a stark departure from the project's stance in mid-August, when leadership explicitly rejected migration as being too disruptive to the ecosystem.

The Migration and Future Strategy

Under the new proposal, Harmony plans to transition the ONE token to the Ethereum network through a comprehensive snapshot and airdrop process. While token supply and emissions are slated to remain unchanged, the blockchain’s core infrastructure, including smart contracts and liquidity pools, will not be automatically transferred. Users have been urged to exit their positions and smart contracts before September 10, as validators may begin shutting down operations as early as that date. In a final shift of focus, Harmony intends to repurpose future token emissions toward a new AI-video initiative, effectively decoupling the token's utility from the original blockchain it was designed to secure.