Harmony proposes shutting down mainnet, migrating ONE to Ethereum
AI & Agents ·
Layer 1 network plans to sunset operations by September 2026 as team redirects resources toward an AI video venture.
Harmony has proposed shutting down its mainnet and migrating its native ONE token to Ethereum, with the transition targeted for completion by September 2026. The announcement, made through the project's official channels, frames the move as a strategic pivot rather than a response to an exploit or acute funding crisis, though the underlying rationale for abandoning the Layer 1 chain has not been detailed publicly.
According to The Block, Harmony intends to redirect its team and resources into an AI video economy business following the mainnet sunset. The specifics of how ONE holders will migrate their tokens, what mechanism will govern the swap to an Ethereum-based asset, and what becomes of Harmony's existing validator set and applications running on the network remain unspecified in the proposal as described so far.
Multiple accounts of the plan converge on the same core facts: Harmony is sunsetting its Layer 1 blockchain, proposing a token migration to Ethereum, and pivoting toward an AI video creation platform. The consistency across these reports suggests the proposal is an established internal decision rather than a rumor, though it is still described as a proposal rather than a finalized, executed shutdown.
The move places Harmony among a broader pattern of crypto projects winding down mainnet operations to redirect capital toward new business lines, a category distinct from shutdowns forced by hacks or bear-market funding exhaustion. Unlike exploit-driven closures, which typically come with urgent withdrawal deadlines measured in days, Harmony's roughly year-long runway to September 2026 gives token holders and ecosystem participants more time to plan for the migration.
What remains unresolved is the mechanics of the ONE-to-Ethereum migration, including any conversion ratio, smart contract details, or deadline structure for individual holders, as well as the degree to which existing Harmony infrastructure — bridges, dApps, staking — will be preserved or wound down in parallel. Also unclear is how the new AI video economy business will be funded, structured, or branded relative to the existing Harmony team and token, and whether ONE will retain any utility once the underlying Layer 1 network ceases to operate.