Severe 24-hour outage causes permanent web outage

The Arweave network, the underlying protocol for the “persistent web,” experienced a shocking and unprecedented network outage. According to verifiable on-chain data from Arweave Explorer, block generation on the Arweave (AR) blockchain has been completely halted for over 24 hours. The last known block number 1,851,686 was mined on February 6, 2025 at approximately 3:18 AM UTC, rendering the ecosystem inoperable. This event represents a significant disruption for networks specifically designed for uncorruptible data persistence.

Arweave Block Production Outage: Analysis of an Unprecedented Outage

Network data confirms that the Arweave block production outage began more than a day ago. As a result, all transaction finality and new data storage commitments have been suspended. This outage represents a rare consensus failure within the main layer 1 blockchain. Additionally, this directly impacts Arweave’s core promise of a “permaweb”: a globally accessible, persistent repository of information. AR, the network’s native token, typically facilitates transactions and incentivizes miners for long-term data storage. However, the entire economic and functional model is under immediate strain as block production is frozen.

Comparatively, other blockchain networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have experienced small forks and temporary congestion. However, it is extremely rare for block creation to stop completely over this period. The table below contrasts this event with other notable blockchain incidents.

Understand the Arweave network and its critical role

Arweave works based on a proprietary consensus mechanism called . access proof. This system encourages miners to store the entire blockchain history. Miners must prove that they have a randomly selected past block in order to create a new block. This design inherently combines network security and data persistence. Therefore, the cessation of block generation signals a fundamental breakdown in this consensus process. Potential technical triggers include:

• Critical software bug in widely adopted Node client.
• A previously unknown exploit in the Proof of Access protocol.
• The vast majority of miners go offline at the same time.
• Catastrophic state corruption prevents block validation.

Additionally, the network’s architecture relies on persistent block weave, where each new block references the previous block and one random old block. This outage breaks the chain of references and creates a complex recovery scenario. The immediate real-world implications are profound. Developers cannot deploy new permaweb applications. Users cannot upload or pay for persistent data storage. Existing applications built on Arweave, from archiving services to decentralized social media, are functionally read-only or not accessible at all.

Expert analysis of blockchain resilience and failure modes

Blockchain infrastructure experts emphasize that while decentralized networks are resilient, they are not infallible. Consensus failures of this magnitude require a coordinated and transparent response from the core development team. Historically, network restarts after such events require careful coordination to avoid chain splits and double-spend attacks. The Arweave team must publicly diagnose the root cause, suggest fixes, and manage the validation nodes through the recovery process. This process tests the governance and social consensus of the Arweave community.

Evidence from blockchain explorers shows that no new transactions have been included for more than 24 hours. This data transparency is a key feature of the public ledger and provides undeniable evidence of an outage. The timeline of events is clear. Block 1,851,686 was the last successful addition. Every second since then represents a growing gap in the intended immutable timeline. This incident is a stark reminder that: distributed system We still face core points of failure in our codebase and client implementation.

Potential impact and path to recovery

The impact of Arweave’s network failure extends beyond technical inconveniences. First, the protocol’s core value proposition, trust in persistence, is directly challenged. Second, the market value of AR tokens is often correlated with the utility and security of the network. Prolonged outages usually cause large fluctuations. Third, businesses and institutions that rely on Arweave for compliant long-term data archiving will need to re-evaluate their risk models. A recovery path can include several phases.

1. diagnosis: The core developer will identify the exact bug or condition that is causing the outage.
2. Patch development: A modified Node client version is created and rigorously tested.
3. Adjusted upgrades: Miners and validators upgrade software simultaneously around the world.
4. Restart network: The designated miner generates the first new block and restarts the chain.

This process requires tremendous community coordination and clear communication. Success will depend on the vast majority of hashing powers adopting the fix. Failure can permanently split the chain, creating two conflicting versions of the Arweave ledger. The coming days will be an important test of the project’s governance and the resilience of the decentralized community.

conclusion

of Arweave block production stopped The event is a significant stress test for major data persistence blockchains. This highlights the complex balance between innovative consensus mechanisms and operational stability. Although the transparent nature of the network allows problems to be clearly verified, the path to recovery remains complex. This incident highlighted a fundamental truth about the entire Web3 ecosystem. To achieve true decentralization and unbreakable persistence, we need to address not only economic incentives but also the unforgiving nature of distributed systems engineering. The resolution of this 24-hour outage stands out as a case study in blockchain crisis management and protocol resiliency.

FAQ

Q1: What does it mean that Arweave block production has stopped?
This means that the Arweave blockchain has completely stopped creating new blocks. No new transactions are processed or confirmed, and the network state is frozen at the last validated block.

Q2: Can I access data already stored in Arweave during an outage?
That’s probably true, since the data is stored across a distributed network of nodes. However, applications that require writing new data or interacting with smart contracts will cease to function until block generation resumes.

Q3: What causes Arweave network failure?
The exact cause is unknown and is being investigated by core developers. Possible causes include critical software bugs, consensus failure in the access proofing mechanism, or simultaneous failure of large nodes.

Q4: How will this affect AR cryptocurrency tokens?
Network utility is a key factor in determining the value of a token. Prolonged outages typically create uncertainty, reduce confidence in the functioning of the network, increase market volatility, and often create selling pressure.

Q5: Has the same thing happened before with other major blockchains?
Complete outages during this period are rare. More common are temporary outages and severe congestion (such as Solana). This event is notable for its length and for occurring on a network specifically designed for data persistence and high reliability.