A massive prize of $400,000 has been given for anyone who can find the code that can allegedly “turn off” the Solana network, posing a tantalising challenge for programmers and blockchain fans everywhere. The recent court hearing that shocked the cryptocurrency industry is the source of the hype around this dispute.
Caroline Ellison’s shocking evidence before the FTX court is what sparked the dispute. According to Ellison, Alameda is capable of “turning off” the Solana blockchain, which would result in the liquidation of users. The decentralised structure of blockchains makes them fundamentally resistant to any single point of control or failure, therefore her comment prompted concerns and raised eyebrows.
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An anonymous user was intrigued by the allegation and looked into Solana’s source code, publishing a screenshot on GitHub that suggested there could be a method that allows one to shut down the network. However, it appears from a closer look at the snapshot that the functions mentioned do not have the power to switch off the network.
Asynchronous method that manages specific request types, most notably one that matches the “stop” command, is demonstrated in the shared code snippet. When certain credentials are received, it appears that this function is intended to stop the programme. However, doing so does not automatically result in the Solana network being turned off. Instead, it can have to do with terminating a regional instance or software programme connected to the Solana ecosystem.
It’s critical to recognise the difference between “turning off” a particular blockchain application and potentially doing so for the entire network. Due to the decentralised nature of blockchains like Solana, the network would continue to operate even if one node (or even multiple nodes) were to go offline. As a result, the audacious assertion made in court does not support the discovery of a function in the code that terminates an application.
