Bridge Recovery, AVT Supply and AvN Mainnet Upgrade

The decision

Following the August bridge exploit, the Aventus DAO Council has agreed a recovery plan with three priorities: restore the bridge safely, strengthen the network and release process, and make future changes to AVT supply transparent and verifiable.

The plan authorises the bridge to mint up to 3,269,335 AVT on Ethereum, only when needed and only in the amount required to replenish the reserves for bridge transfers. It also accompanies the AvN Mainnet v10.0.3 upgrade, which introduces a permanent transaction fee burn and wider network improvements.

Restore the bridge

Replacement issuance of up to 3,269,335 AVT, minted by the bridge only as needed and used solely for bridge reserves.

Burn transaction fees

100% of AVT paid in AvN transaction fees will be permanently removed from circulation.

Upgrade AvN

v10.0.3 adds appchain reward controls, moves AvN to Polkadot SDK stable2606 and strengthens release security.

Publish the evidence

The Council will publish the relevant issuance, reserve and burn records for community verification.

The replacement issuance and the fee burn are separate measures. The burn is a permanent mechanism tied to network activity, not an immediate offset for the supply impact of the exploit.

Restoring the Aventus Bridge

3,269,335

Maximum AVT replacement issuance

The August exploit resulted in 3,269,335 AVT being created without authorisation and sold into the market.

The vulnerability was closed and the bridge was paused. However, the incident left the bridge without the AVT reserves required to support normal transfers.

Restoring those reserves is necessary to bring the bridge back into operation. The Council has therefore authorised the bridge to mint up to 3,269,335 AVT on Ethereum. This will not be minted all at once: the bridge will mint AVT only when it is needed, and only in the amount required to replenish bridge reserves.

The replacement AVT will not be:

allocated to Council members
used to finance DAO operations
sold to raise working capital
used for any purpose outside bridge restoration

Accounting for the supply impact

We recognise that issuing replacement tokens has a direct effect on AVT supply. The AVT created through the exploit remains in circulation, so the replacement issuance does not erase what happened. We will not present it as if it does.

The purpose of the issuance is specific: to restore the reserves required for the bridge to function. The Council will publish each issuance transaction and the address holding the restored reserves so the community can verify both.

Bridge reopening: the bridge will only return to normal operation once the required technical, security and operational checks are complete. We will publish a further update when those conditions have been met.

A permanent AVT transaction fee burn

100%

Of AvN transaction fees burned

AvN Mainnet v10.0.3 changes how transaction fees are handled.

Previously, fees were recycled within the network. Under the new mechanism, every AVT paid in AvN transaction fees is permanently removed from circulation.

Transaction fee levels have also been increased, which means more AVT will be burned per transaction than under the previous fee structure. AvN will maintain a cumulative on-chain record of all fees burned so the total can be independently checked.

A transaction is submitted
The user pays the applicable fee in AVT.
The fee is burned
It is removed from circulation rather than recycled.
The total is recorded
A cumulative on-chain burn total remains verifiable.

The amount removed will depend on actual network usage. This mechanism does not immediately reverse the supply impact of the exploit, and we will not describe it as an instant solution. It establishes a permanent and transparent relationship between AvN activity and AVT supply reduction.

Further improvements in v10.0.3

Greater control over appchain rewards

Governance can include or exclude individual nodes from a specific appchain reward programme. All nodes remain eligible by default, and the setting remains attached to the node if ownership changes.

Updated network infrastructure

AvN moves to Polkadot SDK stable2606, keeping the network aligned with the latest supported Polkadot technology.

Stronger release security

Additional safeguards have been introduced around the process through which network software is built and published.

Accountability and next steps

The Council will publish the records needed for the community to verify the replacement issuance, the restored bridge reserves and the effect of the new fee burn over time.

Publish each replacement issuance transaction

Identify the address and balance of the restored bridge reserves

Provide updates as bridge restoration checks are completed

Make the cumulative AvN fee burn easy to verify on-chain

Community governance remains an important part of Aventus. Decisions that require community approval will continue to be brought to governance. At the same time, the Council will take responsibility for operational decisions within its authority and explain those decisions clearly.

We understand the impact the exploit has had on AVT holders and the wider community. One announcement will not rebuild confidence. That will come from doing what we say, publishing evidence and showing measurable progress.

Our immediate priority is to restore the bridge safely. Our longer-term responsibility is to strengthen the infrastructure supporting it and maintain a clear, verifiable record of how AVT supply changes over time.

Aventus DAO Council
20 October 2026