The zkSync Era blockchain recently faced significant network issues that forced developers to suspend block production for several hours. According to Chinese crypto news journalist Colin Wu, the project’s mainnet encountered problems, as indicated by zkSync Era’s network status browser. Despite the developers’ announcement, the blockchain had not recorded any downtime incidents. However, the website showed a “major outage” during this period.
zkSync Era’s developers attributed these network issues to a bug that triggered an automated safety protocol embedded in the network. The activation of this protocol created an unprecedented situation that required teams to thoroughly investigate the root cause. Just over a week ago, the zkSync Era protocol halted transactions for more than an hour due to network congestion. Analysts pointed out that the network was overwhelmed by an excessive number of transactions, amounting to over $5 million. It is worth mentioning that Arbitrum, another Layer 2 protocol, experienced a similar block production halt due to a transaction block explorer issue.
When the zkSync Era protocol was initially launched, the creators at Matter Labs emphasized the criticality of security. The protocol incorporates network mechanisms like practical Byzantine fault tolerance (pBFT) and delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) to ensure robust security. However, ChainLight, a blockchain security audit startup, identified a network vulnerability in zkSync Era that could potentially result in a loss of nearly $2 billion if exploited. Fortunately, the blockchain’s use of zk-rollups technology to compute transactions off-chain makes such an exploit highly unlikely.
Despite these challenges, zkSync Era has proven its resilience and popularity in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. As of now, zkSync Era boasts a total value locked (TVL) of $159.06 million, with a 24-hour trading volume exceeding $100 million, according to DefiLlama data. Additionally, zkSync has recorded the highest inflow values in the past day, surpassing Ethereum and Arbitrum with $9.6 million, $8.4 million, and $6.7 million, respectively.
Although zkSync Era has encountered network issues and potential vulnerabilities, the developers are actively addressing these concerns. They have swiftly resolved the recent network problems and ensured that the blockchain is fully operational. With a commitment to security, continuous improvement, and a growing user base, zkSync Era is determined to overcome any obstacles it may face and solidify its position as a leading blockchain protocol in the world of DeFi.
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