Starknet, an Ethereum layer-2 protocol, faced a block reorganization that resulted in a backlog of transactions and a four-hour outage in block production, as indicated by the protocol’s block monitoring tool, Starkscan.
The gap between the creation of blocks 630028 and 630029 on April 4 was visible on Starkscan, although Starknet’s status page did not report any outages on the same day.
In response, Starknet issued a statement on X, attributing the incident to a rounding error bug that caused the reorganization of blocks. Although block production continued uninterrupted, the reorganization led to a transaction backlog, preventing the network from operating at full capacity. This backlog resulted in some transactions being rejected and others being reverted due to changes in parameters, such as timestamps.
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Earlier today, we identified a rounding error bug that led to a reorg of blocks. Starknet’s block production continued as usual. However, the reorg caused the transaction backlog to reach full capacity. Consequently, there were a few minutes during which new transactions…
— Starknet 🦇🔊 (@Starknet) April 5, 2024
Starknet’s status page last indicated a major outage on March 13, attributed to slow block creation caused by Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade.
This outage adds to a series of challenges experienced by prominent blockchain networks. Solana, for example, encountered a significant outage in early February 2024, halting block progression for over five hours on its mainnet. Solana has faced multiple outages since January 2022, raising concerns about the network’s stability.
In early April, Solana experienced another setback, with nearly 75% of all transactions failing amid heightened activity driven by the memecoin craze. Analysts attribute these failed transactions primarily to bot activities on Solana, particularly those attempting arbitrage trades.
