Qubic freezes chain after attacker drains 1.4K wallets with weak seeds
Qubic says 87.1% of the stolen funds remain onchain and the rest were frozen at crypto exchange MEXC, as network validators prepare to vote on a recovery plan.
Qubic, a proof-of-work blockchain network, has frozen its chain following a significant security breach in which an attacker drained approximately 1,400 wallets by exploiting weak seed phrases. According to the project team, 87.1% of the stolen funds remain on-chain, while the remainder has been frozen in coordination with cryptocurrency exchange MEXC, limiting the attacker's ability to liquidate the assets.
The vulnerability stemmed from wallets generated with insufficiently random or weak seed phrases, which made them susceptible to brute-force or predictive attacks. This class of exploit targets a fundamental aspect of wallet security — the randomness of key generation — rather than flaws in the blockchain protocol itself. Qubic's decision to halt chain activity represents a drastic but calculated response aimed at preserving recoverable funds while a remediation plan is developed.
The incident highlights ongoing risks associated with wallet seed generation standards across the broader crypto industry. When networks or wallet software fail to enforce sufficiently strong entropy during key creation, user funds can remain exposed even on otherwise secure blockchains. The event may prompt renewed scrutiny of seed generation practices across smaller and emerging blockchain ecosystems.
Looking ahead, Qubic's network validators are preparing to vote on a formal recovery plan. The outcome of that vote will determine how — and whether — affected users can reclaim stolen funds. Market participants and security researchers will be closely monitoring the process as a potential case study in on-chain incident response.
Source: Cointelegraph
