Key facts
- Harmony proposed shutting down its blockchain due to threats from AI agents and state actors.
- The plan involves migrating the ONE token to Ethereum and reallocating token emissions to an AI video initiative.
- Users must exit smart contracts by September 10, 2026, as they cannot be migrated.
- A $1.372 million pool is proposed for eligible validators and their delegators.
- Harmony previously experienced an exploit involving the creation of unauthorized ONE tokens.
Harmony, a layer-1 blockchain, has proposed shutting down its network on Sunday, citing escalating threats from AI agents and state actors. The team plans to migrate the ONE token to Ethereum, with balances recorded at the network's final block. Token emissions will be redirected to fund a new initiative focused on AI video, dubbed "The Remix Economy for AI Video".
Users with assets in smart contracts are urged to exit before September 10, 2026, as these cannot be migrated. Eligible validators and their delegators may receive payments from a proposed $1.372 million pool, distributed in four quarterly installments, provided they agree to serve as governors. The total supply and emission rate of the ONE token will remain unchanged.
This proposal follows a recent exploit where an attacker created approximately 4 billion unauthorized ONE tokens. The announcement also highlights the increasing role of AI in cybersecurity within the crypto space, with companies reporting suspected AI-assisted attacks and developers using AI to identify vulnerabilities. The Bitcoin Red Team, a group of volunteers using AI models, is mentioned as an example of efforts to proactively find and fix flaws in crypto software.