The Ravencoin project announced on Tuesday that transaction data from several days may be erased after attackers exploited a critical vulnerability in its software.
This project is a small blockchain launched in 2018 based on Bitcoin's code but primarily built for issuing and moving digital assets. Like Bitcoin, it relies on miners to add new blocks and agree on the transaction history. However, its network is much smaller. This means a few mining pools can exert significantly more influence over which version of the blockchain persists after a network split.
This concentration matters now. Two mining pools—2Miners and RavenMiner, which together control a large portion of Ravencoin's computing power—are reverting to a blockchain record created just before the appearance of the first block, as shown by data. If enough miners follow their lead, everything recorded since then will be replaced.
A blockchain is a constantly updated record of transactions, recorded in batches called blocks and added by miners who operate groups of computers competing to create the next block. Miners typically work in pools, combining their machines and sharing profits. The network considers the version of the record with the most computing power to be genuine.
The consequences for users are simpler. A payment that appeared completed over the weekend could disappear from Ravencoin's records, the coins would return to the sender, and the recipient would be left with nothing.
An exchange that credited a deposit and allowed a client to withdraw funds would be left short, which is why many have stopped accepting $RVN altogether.
Amsterdam's Bitvavo has, as a precaution, suspended deposits and withdrawals of $RVN, citing the vulnerability exploited by attackers. South Korea's Upbit posted an investment warning for $RVN on its won, Bitcoin, and Tether markets and has also suspended deposits.
RavenMiner stated on its website that its nodes are already working on an emergency fix and mining a 'clean blockchain'. Blocks created during the attack are being discarded across the network, so mining revenue from that period is invalidated everywhere, not just in the pool.
The company has paused payouts until the blockchain stabilizes, promised to cover any shortfall itself, and stated that revenue from the period before 15:44 UTC on August 7 is unaffected.
Ravencoin has faced a similar situation before. In 2020, attackers exploited a vulnerability that allowed the creation of $RVN beyond the permissible rules, issuing approximately 31 million extra tokens before the issue was fixed.
The $RVN asset fell 17% in 24 hours to approximately $0.0029, reducing its market capitalization to around $48 million with a trading volume of $10 million. Over the past year, the token has lost 77% of its value.
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