‘Solana Killer’ Sui Hit by Network Outage, Upbit Freezes Deposits

Sui Network Outage: A Breakdown of Events

The Sui blockchain experienced an outage that halted production for over an hour, as no new blocks could be produced during this period. According to SuiVision, the last block generated before the outage occurred at 9:15 UTC. For the next 60 minutes, the network failed to produce any blocks, affecting the overall operation of the blockchain.

During this time, the native token of the Sui blockchain, SUI, saw a sharp decline in value. The cryptocurrency dropped by 11%, although it was still up more than 75% over the past 30 days, trading at $3.40 at the time of the incident.

Impact on Crypto Exchanges

The outage also caused disruptions on various crypto exchanges. South Korea-based Upbit, for instance, paused both withdrawals and deposits for the SUI token. Traders were informed of the issue through network error citations related to the halt in Sui deposits.

In the wake of the outage, the Sui Foundation announced a production halt on Twitter. The Foundation confirmed that the network had ceased processing transactions due to the outage, which was later attributed to a bug in the system.

Cause of the Outage: A DOS Bug

Cybersecurity firms have weighed in on the potential cause of the outage. ExVul, a Web3 security agency, conducted an analysis and revealed that the outage was likely caused by a DOS (Denial of Service) bug due to an integer overflow. According to their findings, the bug was located on GitHub, and a fix patch code was suggested.

The Sui Foundation later tweeted that the network was restored and processing transactions, two hours after the outage had begun. The Foundation thanked the Sui validators for their quick response and actions in resolving the issue.

Details of the Bug and Resolution

Upon further investigation, the Sui Foundation clarified that the outage was caused by a bug in the transaction scheduling logic. This bug resulted in the crashing of network validators. Despite this being the first major outage for the Sui blockchain, the network was able to recover relatively quickly.

Tim Kravchunovsky, the founder of Chirp—a decentralized telecommunications network based on Sui—explained that previous issues with the network had only occurred on the testnet. He pointed out that the testnet faced several downtimes in the past, but the most recent event marked the first significant outage on the mainnet.

Market Response and Future Outlook for Sui

Despite the disruption caused by the outage, Sui has started to recover. After the network restoration, the SUI token began erasing its daily losses, trading at $3.60. As of November 22, 2024, the token was up by 2.14% in the last 24 hours, with a trading volume surge of 6.80%, reaching $1.75 billion. Its market capitalization also rose to $10.07 billion.

In response to the outage, Kravchunovsky urged traders to consider the bigger picture. He asked them to appreciate the quick resolution of the issue and not compare it to the prolonged outages faced by Solana in 2022. He emphasized that while this was a major setback, it showed the resilience of the Sui team and the blockchain’s ability to bounce back quickly.

Looking Ahead: What’s Next for Sui?

The Sui blockchain’s first major outage has sparked discussions about the blockchain’s future stability. However, the quick resolution of the issue, along with the positive market reaction, indicates that Sui’s long-term prospects remain strong. The recovery of its token price and growing market cap are signs of confidence among investors.

As Sui continues to evolve and address technical challenges, it will need to ensure that such outages are prevented in the future to maintain its reputation as a competitor to Solana. However, if the Sui blockchain continues to resolve issues efficiently, it may emerge even stronger from this setback, solidifying its position in the rapidly evolving blockchain space.