A recent post-mortem of the 5-hour-long network outage that plagued the Aptos platform has revealed multiple details about the disruption.
5-Hour Outage Not Capacity Related
The layer-1 Aptos blockchain network has shared details on a major outage it suffered on its one-year anniversary. On October 19 at approximately 4:15 PM PDT, the blockchain network experienced a significant outage on its one-year anniversary, disrupting operations for a period of five hours and fifteen minutes. It is important to note that the network issues were not the result of transaction load or network capacity concerns.
Code Change Culprit
In a post-mortem report released by the Aptos network team, the root cause of the outage was identified as a performance-focused code change that had been implemented in the Aptos-core code base back in August. This code change, while introduced with the intention of enhancing performance, only manifested its adverse effects following the launch of the "FeeStatement event" on October 16.
The post-mortem report explains,
"Specifically, validators agreed that a transaction had an insufficient gas budget to execute a transaction, and they were unable to agree upon the amount of gas used up to that point as a result of the non-determinism introduced in the August code change."
Resolution Implemented, Precautions Taken
Fortunately, Aptos was able to swiftly resolve the issue without losing any committed transactions or experiencing a network fork. The team identified and reverted the problematic code change, and validators successfully upgraded to the fixed software. This allowed them to regain consensus and restart the blockchain.
The Aptos network outage serves as a valuable lesson for the broader blockchain community. It highlights the importance of rigorous testing, especially concerning edge cases, when implementing code changes. Moving forward, the Aptos team has committed to strengthening its testing infrastructure and processes to prevent similar issues from affecting the mainnet.
APT Price Outlook
Aptos, which has positioned itself as an "Ethereum killer" along with other layer-1 chains, has managed to maintain the stability of its native token, APT, despite the network disruption. At the time of writing, APT is trading at $4.93, reflecting a modest 1.2% increase for the day.
However, it's important to note that APT, like many other altcoins, has been impacted by the recent bear market, experiencing a 5.7% loss over the past two weeks.
Furthermore, APT's price has been influenced by regular token unlocks, contributing to its decline of 75% from its all-time high of just under $20 in January 2023.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
