Events and Controversies

Notable DonutSMP events in date order, from the reported 2023 server deletion to the June 2026 update and the November 2026 tax.

Most details come from fan wikis, creator videos and player petitions.

Timeline

DateEvent
October 2023A creator video reports that the server was accidentally deleted [1]
February 25, 2026Petition started against the rule that bans AFKing on alt accounts [2]
June 2–3, 2026Update removes /shop, spawn, crates, the sell multiplier and more [3][4]
Week of June 4, 2026DonutSMP's weekly average player count falls about 53% [5]
November 2026A 2% tax is added to /pay, /ah and /orders [6][7][8]

Accidental deletion

On October 19, 2023, YouTube creator Solace posted a video titled "How the DonutSMP was Accidentally Deleted". Its description says the server "has recently been deleted by his team of developers" [1].

An October 2024 DowneLink article says someone working in the server's configuration tools deleted what he thought was an unused proxy server. The proxy was tied to the main databases, so the databases were lost too [9]. The article does not give a date for the incident [9].

A July 2026 Minecraft Stats article repeats community reports that a staff member deleted the proxy connected to DonutSMP's databases while screen-sharing [5]. It says the lost data included player stats, inventories, ender chests, in-game money and ranks, and that there was no usable restore point [5]. It does not give a date either [5].

The accounts disagree on who was responsible, and none of them is an official DonutSMP statement [5][9].

End of Season 1

According to the fan-run donutsmp.wiki, Season 1 ended "due to an overinflated economy and duping", and Season 2 is "the current, permanent season" [10]. The Fandom wiki says DrDonutt has said Season 2 "will be here forever" and that Season 3 will not happen in the near future [11]. It also says crates used to give random rewards, and that this gambling element was removed after a YouTuber duplicated items [11]. The date Season 1 ended is not known.

Bots, alts and AFK bans

The server peaked at about 60,000 concurrent players [10][12]. According to the Fandom wiki, DrDonut said on a stream that 15,000 of the players online at that peak were bot accounts using a proxy [12]. The donutsmp.wiki says much of the peak came from "bot accounts using proxies" [10]. The real peak of human players is not known [10][12].

On February 25, 2026, a player started a Change.org petition asking staff to reverse a rule against AFKing on alt accounts [2]. It calls the rule "a ploy to push players towards purchasing Donut Plus" [2]. It had 25 signatures, against a goal of 50 [2].

According to the Fandom wiki, DrDonut has banned players he suspected of AFKing on bot accounts, including accounts with Donut+ [13]. The same wiki says the server's custom anti-cheat targets Meteor Client and other clients, and that a large number of Meteor Client users have reportedly been banned [14].

June 2–3, 2026 update

The Fandom wiki calls the June 2, 2026 update "one of the most impactful updates in DonutSMP history" and says the server was down for about 12 hours before it [3]. A Minecraft Forum guide dates it June 2–3, 2026 [4].

Removed:

  • /shop, spawn and the AFK area [3][4]
  • Crates, whose keys came from the hourly /keyall and the store [4][15]
  • The sell multiplier, which raised /sell prices by up to 3x [3][16]
  • Teams, Duels and the Billford trader [3][17]
  • Shards for killing players [3][4]

Added or changed:

  • Donut++ and Donut+++ ranks [3][4]
  • Friends, replacing Teams [3][4]
  • A Shard Shop, opened through /ah or /orders [4]
  • Dialog menus instead of chest menus [3][4]
  • Instant teleports for RTP and homes [3][4]
  • Players without Donut+ got 3 homes instead of 2, and 18 Auction House and Orders slots instead of 25 [3]

The Fandom wiki calls the update "highly controversial" [3]. The Minecraft Forum guide says "most fans didn't like the update" [4].

Two Change.org petitions followed. One, created June 2, 2026, asks admins to restore the shop and had 281 signatures [18]. The other, created June 3, 2026, asks for a rollback of the update and accuses the server of "shifting towards a pay-to-win model"; it had 5 signatures [19]. Minecraft Stats says the pay-to-win claims came from community discussion [5].

According to the Fandom wiki, DrDonutt said the main reason the Shard Shop and other paid features were added was the cost of buying servers for a future world border expansion [20].

Player count after the update

Minecraft Stats reports that DonutSMP had a higher weekly average player count than Hypixel every week from early January to late May 2026 [5]. DonutSMP's weekly average fell from 28,020 in the week of May 28 to 13,076 in the week of June 4, a drop of about 53% [5]. Over the same weeks Hypixel rose from 25,360 to 26,309 [5]. The site links the drop to the June update and the database loss, but its data shows only the timing [5]. As of its July 2, 2026 article, it ranked DonutSMP third [5].

November 2026 tax

On November 10 and 11, 2026, several YouTube creators posted videos about a new DonutSMP tax [6][7][21][22]. One says every /pay and order is taxed [6]. Another says it covers "orders, auctions, paying and other things" [7].

In-game tests found the following [8]:

ActionWho pays the 2%
/payThe sender, on top of the amount sent
/ahThe buyer, included in the shown price
/ordersThe player placing the order, on top; refunded on cancel
/sellNo one; the seller gets the full order price
BountiesNot taxed
History of DonutSMPHow DonutSMP grew from a streamer's whitelisted server, its player counts, and dated 2026 changes up to the November tax.Money-Making Meta Over TimeHow the best ways to make money on DonutSMP changed from 2024 to the June 2026 update and the November 2026 tax.EconomyHow money and shards work on DonutSMP: money commands, /sell, buy orders, the auction house, shards, /baltop, the 2% transaction tax announced on November 11, 2026, and the trading rules.Server Info and How to JoinHow to join DonutSMP on Java, Bedrock and consoles: address, ports, versions, regions, rules, store basics, support and official links, as of 13 November 2026.

Sources

  1. How the DonutSMP was Accidentally Deleted - Solace (YouTube, Oct 19, 2023) - youtube.com
  2. Revert the no AFK on alts rule in Donut SMP (Change.org petition, Feb 25, 2026) - change.org
  3. June 2nd update - DonutSMP Wiki (Fandom) - donutsmp.fandom.com
  4. DonutSMP Economy After the June Update - Minecraft Forum - minecraftforum.net
  5. What Happened to DonutSMP and Why It Lost the #1 Spot - Minecraft Stats (July 2, 2026) - minecraft-stats.com
  6. DonutSMP just added TAXES?! - raynarisepic (YouTube, Nov 10, 2026) - youtube.com
  7. DONUT SMP ADDED TAX!!! (new update) - Cubing_n_gaming (YouTube, Nov 10, 2026) - youtube.com
  8. DonutSMP 2% tax - in-game tests - donutorders.com
  9. Donut SMP Server: Accidental Deletion Causes Downtime and Community Upheaval - DowneLink (Oct 26, 2024) - downelink.com
  10. About DonutSMP - donutsmp.wiki (fan wiki) - donutsmp.wiki
  11. Donut SMP seasons - DonutSMP Wiki (Fandom) - donutsmp.fandom.com
  12. About DonutSMP - DonutSMP Wiki (Fandom) - donutsmp.fandom.com
  13. DonutSMP Memberships - DonutSMP Wiki (Fandom) - donutsmp.fandom.com
  14. Anti-Cheat - DonutSMP Wiki (Fandom) - donutsmp.fandom.com
  15. Crates - DonutSMP Wiki (Fandom) - donutsmp.fandom.com
  16. Sell Multiplier - DonutSMP Wiki (Fandom) - donutsmp.fandom.com
  17. Billford - DonutSMP Wiki (Fandom) - donutsmp.fandom.com
  18. Add the Donut SMP shop back (Change.org petition, June 2, 2026) - change.org
  19. Revert the new DonutSMP update (Change.org petition, June 3, 2026) - change.org
  20. Border Expansion - DonutSMP Wiki (Fandom) - donutsmp.fandom.com
  21. DonutSMP Just Added TAXES... - Sidewxys (YouTube, Nov 11, 2026) - youtube.com
  22. Donut SMP New Tax Update - Julfish (YouTube, Nov 11, 2026) - youtube.com

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