Written by Ezra Reguerrastaff writerReviewed by Yohan Yunstaff editor

Written by Ezra Reguerrastaff writer

Reviewed by Yohan Yunstaff editor

Core DAO plans emergency hard fork after validators drew excess rewards

Latest NewsPublishedSep 2, 2026

Core says the incident is contained and its planned forward upgrade will not roll back the network or reverse previously verified transactions.

Core DAO is coordinating an emergency hard fork after validators claimed more CORE rewards than the blockchain intended to issue. 

In an update, Core stated the incident had been contained and that “malicious validators” could no longer draw excess rewards. It stated the fork would be a forward upgrade and would not roll back the network or reverse any previously verified transactions. 

This followed an earlier status update on Monday, in which Core stated a small number of validators had accrued rewards significantly above the protocol’s intended issuance. It stated the incident was limited to reward issuance and that user assets remained safe, adding that it would publish a technical postmortem. 

Several exchanges restricted CORE transfers around the time of the incident. Coinbase paused sends and receives on the Core network, while Bithumb and Coinone suspended deposits and withdrawals, citing suspected or verified security concerns. 

Bitget also suspended CORE deposits and withdrawals, citing wallet maintenance, while LBank suspended deposits because of what it described as the project’s requirements. 

Core has not disclosed how much CORE was issued, how long the activity continued, or whether any of the additional tokens entered circulation. It also has not explained the vulnerability that enabled the validators to obtain the rewards. nevertheless, Core stated it would publish a technical postmortem.

Cointelegraph contacted Core for further information but had not received a response by publication.

Related: BNB Chain activates Pasteur hard fork to strengthen bridge security

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

• Rewards
• Validator
• Cryptocurrency Exchange
• Blockchain

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