Harmony said on Sept. 6 that it plans to shut down its blockchain and migrate the ONE token to Ethereum under a non-binding proposal, marking a reversal from its earlier stance after an August exploit and rollback.

The proposal follows an Aug. 11 exploit that, according to Harmony, allowed attackers to mint tokens without proper debits. The incident resulted in unauthorized issuance of about 3.01 trillion ONE. Harmony later executed a rollback on Aug. 21, and the new Ethereum migration plan is the latest step in its response.

Under the proposal, Harmony would take a snapshot of the final block on its chain and distribute new ONE tokens to Ethereum wallet addresses. The company said smart contracts and liquidity pools would not be transferred automatically. Users were urged to exit smart contracts by Sept. 10 as part of the shutdown process.

Harmony also proposed a compensation pool of $1.37 million for governors and delegators, to be distributed over four quarters. At the same time, the plan would redirect future ONE emissions toward Harmony’s AI-video initiative, further separating the token from its original role as the native asset of the chain.

The move comes after another major security episode in Harmony’s history. In June 2022, the project’s Horizon bridge was attacked, with nearly $100 million drained, according to the report. That attack was attributed to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.

Why It Matters

Harmony’s proposal stands out because it goes beyond a token redenomination or bridge recovery plan. It points to a full retreat from maintaining a standalone blockchain after repeated security failures, replacing it with an Ethereum-based token structure. That kind of shift can reshape how exchanges, custodians, governors, and remaining ecosystem users assess long-tail Layer 1 survival after a major exploit.

The proposal also highlights a broader industry fault line: when a chain winds down, token migration is only part of the problem. Contracts, liquidity, governance rights, and user balances do not automatically move with the asset. That leaves execution quality, user coordination, and post-migration utility as the key factors in whether the transition preserves any lasting network value.