BNB Smart Chain to Perform Hard Fork as Fix for $100M Exploit

The BNB Smart Chain (BSC) will this week perform a hard fork as a fix for the exploit on Oct. 6 that drained an estimated $100 million from the platform.

The "temporary urgent patch" release will occur at around 08:00 UTC (12 p.m. ET) on Wednesday, Oct. 12, according to a post on GitHub Tuesday.

A hard fork is a change to a blockchain protocol that renders older versions invalid. It may be performed when a network makes fundamental changes to its mechanics or governance or, as in this case, as a means of fixing weaknesses that have resulted in hacks or exploits.

The BNB Chain, the blockchain closely linked to cryptocurrency exchange Binance, is composed of BNB Beacon Chain and BNB Smart Chain (BSC).

Binance said deposits and withdrawals for the BSC network will be suspended starting an hour before the hard fork and will be re-started once the upgraded network is deemed to be stable.

BSC was afflicted by an exploit on Oct. 6 which drained around $100 million in crypto. BSC responded by shutting down the chain after spotting issues with the BSC Token Hub protocol, the clearinghouse for transactions moving between the network's composite parts. Operations were subsequently resumed on Oct. 7.

Read more: Binance Exec: BNB Smart Chain Hack Could Have Been Worse if Validators Hadn’t ‘Sprung Into Action’

UPDATE (Oct. 11, 2022 15:29 UTC): Adds detail on deposits and withdrawals being suspended.