Qubic Network Halts After Hack Attack, Blames Weak Wallet Seeds
Key Summary
Qubic's layer-1 blockchain network was halted after an attacker drained approximately $1.4 million from over 1,400 accounts using weak wallet seeds, with 87.1% of the stolen funds remaining onchain and the rest frozen at crypto exchange MEXC.
Precedent & Market Context
The Qubic network's recent security incident highlights the vulnerability of cryptocurrency wallets to hacking and the need for robust security measures. In September, the crypto industry experienced a costly month, with 55 major crypto hacks resulting in losses of almost $766.5 million.
Main Event
Qubic has confirmed that an attacker drained 1,404 wallets, stealing around 2.94 trillion QU during a security incident between October 17 and 18. The network said the problem came from weak wallet seed generation, not a flaw in the Qubic protocol itself. Weak wallet seeds were created with insufficient randomness, making them easier to compromise. The affected seeds were generated on iPhones and iPads using any browser before October 18, on Macs using Safari before that date, or through the Qubic iOS app before July 2025.
Analysis & Market Impact
The Qubic network's validators, known as Computors, coordinated a halt at tick 85,371,949 to prevent further movement of the stolen funds. With transactions paused, 87.1% of the drained funds remain on the network and frozen. The other 12.9% was sent to MEXC, which froze the receiving account within about an hour. Exchanges have also been notified and have suspended QUBIC deposits and withdrawals. The team asserted that the seed generation issue has been fixed in version 4.26. 4. No new weak seeds can be created under the corrected system.
Implications & Outlook
The next steps will depend on the Computor quorum, which will decide how the incident is resolved under the network's rules. The Core team is identifying affected identities and preparing options for the quorum. A community poll is also open on Discord to gather feedback. The layer-1 blockchain network has urged affected users to report the incident to local police or cybercrime authorities. Reports should include the wallet ID, the amount lost, and the transaction link from the Qubic explorer.