H1: Harmony Proposes Shutting Down Layer 1: ONE Migration to Ethereum and September 10 Smart-Contract Exit Risk
Harmony has proposed ending its seven-year run as an independent Layer 1 blockchain and migrating its ONE token to Ethereum.
The proposal is unusual because it combines:
- a blockchain sunset;
- token migration;
- validator transition;
- smart-contract exit risk;
- a strategic shift toward AI-video applications.
The plan is not yet a final binding shutdown schedule.
That qualification is central to CEXVia’s risk classification.
What Harmony is proposing
Harmony proposes:
- taking a snapshot at the network’s final block;
- converting ONE into an ERC-20 token on Ethereum;
- allocating replacement tokens to eligible addresses;
- moving exchange support to the Ethereum token;
- transitioning validators into governance or other roles;
- sunsetting the original Harmony Layer 1.
No final last-block date has been established.
September 10 is still an immediate user-risk date
Harmony is urging users to exit all smart contracts before September 10, 2026.
The reason is that several forms of on-chain state cannot be automatically migrated.
Harmony specifically identified:
- multisig safes;
- liquidity pools;
- on-chain applications
as positions that users need to unwind or exit.
This creates a practical deadline even though the overall shutdown proposal remains non-binding.
What the snapshot is intended to capture
Harmony says the migration snapshot would account for:
- wallet balances;
- staked tokens;
- validator rewards;
- smart-contract-related state;
- centralized-exchange balances.
Replacement tokens would then be distributed to corresponding Ethereum addresses under the proposed model.
Delegated stake and unclaimed rewards would be handled through separate governor-vault logic.
Why a snapshot cannot migrate every application
A token balance can often be reproduced on a new chain.
A complex application state cannot always be reproduced safely.
A liquidity pool contains:
- two or more assets;
- pricing state;
- LP ownership;
- fees;
- external integrations.
A multisig safe contains:
- signer configuration;
- threshold rules;
- module state;
- transaction history.
A DeFi application may depend on contracts that do not exist on Ethereum in the same form.
That is why users can face migration risk even if their base ONE balance is captured.
The August exploit is critical context
The proposal comes shortly after Harmony disclosed an exploit that created approximately 4 billion unauthorized ONE tokens.
Harmony patched the problem and later discussed a rollback approach that would discard a large number of transactions.
CEXVia does not treat every external estimate about how many unauthorized tokens reached exchanges as confirmed by Harmony unless directly verified.
The new shutdown proposal therefore follows a period of unusually high network-integrity risk.
Why Harmony cites security pressure
Harmony’s team has argued that the threat environment from sophisticated attackers, including AI-assisted attackers and state actors, has become difficult for a small independent Layer 1 to defend against.
That is a strategic judgment, not a measurable proof that Harmony can no longer operate securely.
But it explains why the team is proposing to move asset issuance to Ethereum rather than continue funding its own consensus and execution layer.
Validator transition
Harmony has proposed a pool of approximately $1.372 million to compensate eligible validators and delegators under certain conditions.
The proposal contemplates validators:
- keeping stakes under defined terms;
- signing agreements;
- potentially serving as governors;
- receiving payments in installments.
The final validator structure remains subject to proposal/governance outcomes.
Governance status
The proposal is described as non-binding.
No final chain shutdown date has been announced, and the final governance path remains unclear.
CEXVia therefore does not write: “Harmony will definitely shut down on September 10.”
The accurate status is: Shutdown proposed; September 10 is a user smart-contract exit warning, not the confirmed last block.
CEX and custody implications
Centralized exchanges holding ONE will need to determine:
- deposit/withdrawal suspension windows;
- snapshot handling;
- token conversion;
- new Ethereum contract support;
- legacy-chain withdrawal policy.
Until exchange-specific notices are issued, users should not assume every exchange will handle the migration identically.
Smart-contract and bridge boundary
A Layer 1 sunset affects more than the native token.
Potentially affected users include:
- LP providers;
- multisig treasury owners;
- bridge users;
- DeFi borrowers/lenders;
- NFT holders;
- contracts holding ONE;
- validators/delegators;
- CEX users awaiting migration.
Each group can have a different recovery or migration path.
Evidence Status
Confirmed / Project statement + Media
- Harmony has proposed sunsetting its Layer 1.
- ONE would migrate to Ethereum as an ERC-20 under the proposal.
- Users are urged to exit smart contracts before September 10.
- Multisigs, liquidity pools and on-chain apps cannot be automatically migrated.
- The proposal is non-binding.
- No final last-block date has been announced.
- A validator/delegator compensation structure has been proposed.
Developing
- Governance approval.
- Exact final block.
- Snapshot block.
- Ethereum contract address.
- Exchange support.
- Bridge treatment.
- LP/multisig exit completion.
- Validator shutdown participation.
- Treatment of unsupported application state.
Risk Assessment
High.
The chain is not yet under a final shutdown order, but the user migration deadline and recent security history create meaningful asset-access and execution risk.
What to Watch Next
- Governance vote or formal approval.
- September 10 user exit activity.
- Final snapshot rules.
- Last-block date.
- Ethereum ONE contract.
- Exchange migration notices.
- Bridge shutdown.
- Validator participation.
- Treatment of stuck smart-contract assets.
- Any rollback or exploit-recovery interaction with the migration.
FAQ
Is Harmony definitely shutting down?
No. A shutdown/migration has been proposed, but the proposal is non-binding.
Is September 10 the final block?
No. September 10 is the date before which Harmony is urging users to exit smart contracts.
What will happen to ONE?
The proposal would migrate ONE to an ERC-20 token on Ethereum.
Will wallet balances migrate automatically?
The proposal uses a snapshot and replacement-token distribution, but final implementation details remain developing.
What cannot migrate automatically?
Harmony specifically warns about multisig safes, liquidity pools and on-chain applications.
Why is Harmony considering this?
The team cites security pressure and a strategic shift away from operating an independent Layer 1.