Arweave halts block production for over 24 hours — potential risk to permaweb and AR
Arweave (AR) has stopped producing new blocks for more than 24 hours, with the last recorded block #1,851,686 mined on 6 Feb (11:18:15 GMT+8). On-chain explorer data and reports from PANews indicate no new blocks or transaction finality since the timestamp, effectively pausing uploads and write operations to the permaweb. No official cause or statement has been published. Analysts point to likely causes such as a critical client bug, Proof of Access failure, mass node downtime, or state corruption; recovery will require coordinated node patches and a controlled restart to avoid chain splits or double-spend risks. Immediate trader implications include suspended on-chain availability, potential reputational damage to Arweave’s permanence claim, and likely elevated volatility for the AR token. Monitor official Arweave channels for diagnostics and node client releases before considering re-entry; short-term risk is high until block production resumes and chain integrity is confirmed.
Bearish
A prolonged halt in block production directly undermines Arweave’s core service—immutable, always-available storage—creating immediate functional and reputational risk. For traders, this raises short-term uncertainty: suspended uploads and stalled transactions reduce on-chain utility and may prompt sell pressure on AR as confidence drops. Recovery requires coordinated technical fixes and a controlled restart; until then, the risk of state corruption, chain splits, or further outages keeps downside risk elevated. Historically, major network outages (e.g., Solana 2022) trigger abrupt volatility and negative sentiment for the native token. Longer-term impact depends on the speed and success of the technical response and communication: a quick, clean recovery could limit lasting damage, while prolonged or repeated failures would be structurally bearish for AR.