23% of Ethereum Validators Offline After Prysm Bug; Vitalik Buterin Responds
An issue in the Prysm consensus client caused about 23% of the Ethereum network to go offline early Thursday, the Ethereum Foundation said, while other client implementations remained unaffected. The EF advised node operators running Prysm to reconfigure their consensus layer (CL) nodes to restore connectivity and reduce the disruption. The outage was limited to Prysm users and did not immediately affect finality across the chain, but it temporarily raised concerns about validator participation and block proposals.
Vitalik Buterin responded to the incident urging operators to follow EF guidance and prioritise updates and mitigations. He highlighted the event as a reminder of the risks from client concentration and the need for robust testing, faster patch cycles, and broader client diversity. The disruption is likely to prompt audits and renewed focus on operational practices among staking providers and node operators.