Solana proposes phasing out durable nonce feature after $270 million hack

Solana developers have proposed the removal of the durable nonce mechanism, a feature that allows signed transactions to remain valid for extended periods. The proposal, identified as SIMD-0723 and introduced by Anza engineer Gabe Rodriguez, aims to enhance network security by requiring every transaction to include a recent blockhash.

The move follows a significant security breach in April, where attackers reportedly exploited the durable nonce feature to drain at least $270 million from the Drift trading platform. The incident was linked to a hacking group with ties to North Korea. While the feature provides convenience for institutions using air-gapped, offline signing processes, it removes the security layer provided by the standard 30-second transaction expiration window.

Proposed alternatives include using on-chain programs to verify offline signatures, with companies like Anza and Blueshift developing potential replacements. The transition is expected to be gradual, with the proposal stating that the change will not occur on the mainnet-beta before May 5, 2027, allowing users a migration period. Although durable nonce transactions account for only about 3% of Solana's total transaction volume, they represent approximately 30% of the network's total priority fees.