Cardano Faces Mainnet Glitch, What’s Happening?

Cardano (ADA) blockchain experienced a glitch on the mainnet, which has impacted block production. As highlighted by a member-based organization for the Cardano ecosystem, Intersect, the problem caused block production to slow down considerably.

Cardano glitch being fixed

According to Intersect, the team is working with Cardano Foundation and Input Output to fix the issue. While efforts are on to resolve the glitch, node operators running Cardano node version 10.3.1 or higher have been advised to upgrade to version 10.5.2.

However, node operators who are running a version that is older than 10.3.1 do not need to act. Also, regular wallet users who are using Daedalus are not impacted by the glitch. It is worth mentioning that technical issues did not completely halt block production.

Following an issue identified in the Preview environment yesterday, Cardano is currently experiencing a technical issue now on Mainnet.

Currently block production has slowed, and we’re working closely with @Cardano_CF and @InputOutputHK as we coordinate a technical response.…

— Intersect (@IntersectMBO) November 21, 2025

New Cardano blocks are still being produced, but they are facing congestion. The development has sparked concern among some users in the community.

A user, Rachael Robinson, expressed worry over the development, noting that it signals that Cardano blockchain might not be able to handle Midnight’s NIGHT token launch on Dec. 8, 2025.

Robinson’s concern over the privacy-focused Cardano sidechain is understandable because it is expected to boost network demand. The concern revolves around scalability challenges, with the planned launch in December.

ADA price declines as market pressures mount

Meanwhile, another stakeholder in the community, Paddy, insisted that Cardano has not stopped as speculated. Paddy highlighted that only node version 10.1.4 has stopped, but the newer version is running. He is implying that only Cardano node software 1.1.4 appears to have experienced the outage. Hence, anyone on a different, newer version is also functioning normally.

Paddy took a jab at critics of the blockchain, who recently referred to Cardano as a ghost chain. He insisted that the supposed ghost chain is still running despite the fear, uncertainty and doubt that naysayers are trying to spread. He shared a screenshot of node version 10.4.1 working normally.

On the broader cryptocurrency market, Cardano is facing price challenges, with no solution in sight for the asset. In the last 24 hours, ADA has shed 13.74% and currently exchanges hands for $0.4047. The coin plunged from $0.4697 to a low of $0.3911 before a slight rebound.

Some analysts attribute this dip to the “ghost chain” criticism and Bitcoin’s slip in the market, which triggered altcoin liquidation. Market participants remain keen on monitoring developments with the blockchain and its ranking in terms of capitalization.

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