Harmony Shuts Down After Seven Years — Fate of ONE

Harmony plans network shutdown and ERC-20 migration

Harmony, once marketed for low-cost, high-speed transactions and positioned as an Ethereum competitor, is considering winding down operations after seven years. Core developers have proposed shutting the native Harmony chain and migrating the ONE token supply to Ethereum as an ERC-20 token. The team cites increasing costs and the rising difficulty of defending the network from state-sponsored actors and advanced AI-driven threats.

Chain of attacks that led to this decision

Horizon Bridge hack and subsequent exploits

The project’s troubles deepened after the 2022 Horizon Bridge hack that drained roughly $100 million and was linked to the Lazarus Group. In August, a separate vulnerability in cross-shard transaction validation allowed an attacker to mint approximately 4 trillion fake ONE tokens. In response, Harmony controversially reverted the chain to a pre-exploit state, removing more than 109,000 transactions from the blockchain history — a move that intensified debates about the network’s immutability and security.

What the proposed migration would mean

Snapshot, distribution, and token mechanics

If the shutdown proposal is approved, Harmony would take a snapshot of wallet balances, staking positions, validator rewards, and balances held on centralized exchanges. Equivalent ERC-20 ONE tokens would then be distributed automatically on Ethereum based on that snapshot. Future issuances of new ONE would be earmarked to fund Harmony’s planned AI video platform, according to the proposal.

Market reaction and investor guidance

Following the announcement, ONE’s price fell nearly 4% in a single day to around 0.00073 USD, reflecting investor concern. Retail holders and validators should exercise caution: this plan is not finalized and details for the snapshot, distribution timetable, and support from exchanges could change. Before acting, holders should review the final governance proposal, snapshot parameters, and any bridge or custody instructions.

Outlook for validators and staking

Validators and stakers face operational and economic choices if the shutdown proceeds. Migration to an ERC-20 token on Ethereum removes the native staking model and will require validators and staking providers to adjust or unwind positions. The community will need clear migration tooling and exchange support to minimize user risk during the transition.

Note: The shutdown proposal remains subject to community approval and may evolve as developers refine the plan.