The developer behind the Ravencoin cryptocurrency network said Tuesday the blockchain may erase several days of transactions after attackers exploited a flaw in the software that secures the network. As a result, the native token of the network has shed tens of millions in value over the last several hours, crashing 20%.
The vulnerability struck on Aug. 7. Ravencoin, which trades as RVN, runs on proof-of-work, the mining model Bitcoin uses and that Ravencoin forked in 2018 to issue tokens. Under that system, the version of the chain backed by the most computing power is the one the network treats as real.
Ravencoin Network Notice
A critical consensus vulnerability has been demonstrated and exploited on the Ravencoin network.
Hash power is the total computing muscle miners devote to securing the chain; whoever controls the most gets to define which record is real. On Ravencoin, that control is concentrated. "2Miners and RavenMiner currently control a majority of the network hash rate and have announced that they are mining a chain which excludes the exploited branch from height 4,487,776 onward," the notice states.
If enough miners follow them, the replacement chain becomes the legitimate one. "If that chain becomes the dominant chain, this may result in a deep chain reorganization of approximately three days," the post reads.
The developer who published the notice tried to limit the damage and was turned down. "I asked the pools to consider a more recent recovery point to reduce the impact on users, services and exchanges. That request was declined."
Who's exposedFor anyone who moved coins after the flaw, the warning is blunt. "Transactions confirmed after block 4,487,775 should be treated as at risk. Some affected transactions may return to the mempool and be mined again, but this is not guaranteed." The notice adds that "exchanges should not assume that reversed deposits or withdrawals will automatically reappear or be confirmed again."
The sell-off landed the moment the notice spread. The Ravencoin/USDT daily chart printed a long red candle, registering a 20.40% loss on the day.
The drop wiped out months of range-bound trading between roughly 0.0038 and 0.0045, where the token had sat since mid-June. The token currently stands at a $46 million market cap, shedding tens of millions in value in the last several hours.
From its late-May area near 0.0055, RVN has shed close to half its value.
