Qubic’s blockchain is back online after a thief drained 1,404 wallets of nearly $1.3 million, forcing the network into an emergency shutdown. Now, with stolen funds frozen and a recovery program underway, victims have a chance to reclaim their cryptocurrency.
Key Takeaways
- Qubic restarted its blockchain after attackers drained 1,404 wallets of approximately $1.3 million.
- Qubic’s validators approved a recovery plan, with verified victims already receiving payments.
- Qubic victims have until May 1, 2027, to file claims for stolen cryptocurrency.
Qubic Resumes Operations After 1,404 Wallets Are Drained
Qubic has restarted its blockchain following the Oct. 18 security incident that saw approximately 2.94 trillion QU tokens stolen in less than two hours. The network’s validators, known as Computors, had stopped transactions at tick 85,371,949 to prevent further losses.
By the evening of Oct. 19, the blockchain was processing transactions again. On Oct. 20, Qubic announced that its validators had approved a recovery plan, opened a claims portal and begun sending payments to verified victims.
The attack didn’t involve breaking Qubic’s blockchain. Instead, the thief exploited weak wallet recovery seeds, the secret strings of characters that give owners access to their cryptocurrency.
An Apple Software Weakness Left Wallets Exposed
The problem centered on how certain wallets created those secret recovery strings. Older versions of Qubic’s wallet software used a random-number generator that wasn’t secure enough to protect cryptocurrency.
The flaw affected wallets created through browsers on iPhones and iPads, Safari on Macs, and older versions of Qubic’s iOS application. Attackers could potentially reconstruct predictable recovery seeds and gain access without knowing the owner’s password. Qubic said it corrected the problem in wallet version 4.26.4, released around Oct. 19, replacing the weak generator with a more secure method.
However, updating the software doesn’t repair an old recovery seed. Anyone who created a wallet using the affected software must generate an entirely new wallet and transfer their funds. Simply opening the old wallet on another device won’t make it safe.
Stolen Funds Frozen as Qubic Opens Recovery Claims
The thief’s escape plan hit a wall when Qubic halted its network. Approximately 87.1% of the stolen tokens remained trapped on the blockchain, while cryptocurrency exchange MEXC froze an account holding the remaining 12.9%. Qubic subsequently placed affected onchain funds into protected escrow, allowing its validators to begin returning cryptocurrency to verified owners.
The team said victims can submit claims through Qubic’s official recovery portal until May 1, 2027. Applicants must provide their affected wallet identity, a newly generated destination wallet, a signed ownership message, and supporting evidence. Approved claims face a seven-day dispute period before payment. Recovery of funds held at MEXC depends on the exchange and any law-enforcement proceedings.
Qubic has also warned users that legitimate recovery assistance never requires surrendering a wallet seed or paying a fee. The blockchain is moving again, but the incident leaves an uncomfortable question for cryptocurrency holders. What good is an uncompromised blockchain when the software protecting its wallets can hand an attacker the keys?