The Degen Chain, an innovative Ethereum Layer 3 blockchain designed specifically for the DEGEN meme token, has encountered significant operational downtime. This disruption, which began abruptly at approximately 4:15 p.m. ET on Sunday, has halted the validation and processing of new transactions for over 11 hours. The issue was identified when the blockchain ceased operation at block #15524774, as observed on its block explorer.
The resulting outage has severely impacted various decentralized applications (dApps) reliant on Degen Chain, including prominent platforms like Relay Bridge, DegenSwap, Mint Club, and Frogswap. These applications are now completely inoperative, leaving users unable to execute any transactions across the network.
Degen Chain operates on the Arbitrum Orbit tech stack and utilizes the AnyTrust protocol to ensure data availability while primarily settling transactions on Base. The blockchain’s design allows for the use of DEGEN as its native gas token, diverging from the common use of ETH on Ethereum-based projects.
In response to the crisis, the Degen Chain team has initiated collaborative efforts with Conduit, a key rollup infrastructure player, to swiftly address and resolve the downtime. Their focus is on restoring full functionality to the blockchain and its associated services as quickly as possible. In a recent update via X, the Degen Chain team acknowledged the ongoing issues.
This operational hiccup has stirred concerns among stakeholders and users of Degen Chain regarding the platform’s stability and reliability. Syndicate, the Web3 services provider that spearheaded the development of Degen Chain, is closely monitoring the situation. The chain, which hosts approximately $2.6 million in total value locked (TVL) according to data from DeFiLlama, has not seen its native token’s activities on the Base network affected by this disruption.
Amidst the current operational challenges, it is important to note the meteoric rise of Degen Chain since its inception, which has been marked by significant trading volumes and widespread user engagement. Just days after its launch, the platform processed transactions worth $100 million in 24 hours, showcasing its immediate impact and appeal within the crypto community.
