Qubic Halts Network After Wallets With Weakly Generated Seeds Are Drained
The Qubic network is no longer producing new ticks after the incident. The project released a wallet update with cryptographically secure seed generation, but the mainnet restart date and fate of the stolen tokens have not been confirmed.
Qubic halted its network after a security incident in which an attacker, according to the project, drained more than 1,400 wallets. The official Qubic Explorer still lists the last tick as 85 371 949, confirming that the network did not continue producing ticks after the incident. QU token transfers are not possible while the network is halted.
The project attributed the problem to seed phrases generated with insufficient randomness. According to Qubic, the risk primarily affected some older seeds created on Apple devices and in the Safari browser. It has not been confirmed who carried out the attack, or whether and to what extent the funds will be returned to affected users.
Qubic halted the network at tick 85 371 949
Qubic said it halted the network at tick 85 371 949 after detecting wallets being drained. The public project explorer continues to display the same value. The network halt represents a direct operational intervention: QU holders cannot move their tokens until the mainnet is brought back online.
According to a Qubic statement cited by Cointelegraph, more than 1,400 wallets were affected. A community incident checker lists the specific number as 1,404 addresses, along with token-flow data. However, this information has not been independently audited, so the exact number of affected wallets and the total scope of the stolen funds cannot yet be considered definitively confirmed.
New wallet changes seed generation
On October 18, 2026, Qubic released version 4.26.4 of its web wallet. The release notes mention an adjustment to seed generation so that it uses a cryptographically secure source of randomness.
A seed is a secret value from which a wallet derives access to cryptocurrency funds. If it was created in a predictable or insufficiently random way, an attacker may have a greater chance of reconstructing it and gaining control of the address. The wallet update addresses the generation of new seeds, but by itself does not fix older compromised or potentially risky seeds.
A full technical postmortem is not yet available. As a result, there is no independent conclusion on the cause of the incident, the exact scope of the affected seeds, or details about which client versions and device combinations may have been at risk.
Computors are expected to decide on the restart and tokens linked to the incident
The method of restoring the network and the subsequent fate of tokens linked to the incident remain questions. According to available information, the next steps are to be decided by the group of Qubic validators known as Computors.
Community tracking also lists exact QU amounts and claims that funds were sent to the MEXC exchange. These figures have not been independently verified. The controlled sources also did not confirm with MEXC itself the claim that it froze 12.9% of the stolen funds.
For users, the key point at this time is that no date has been announced for restoring mainnet operations, and no confirmed mechanism for potential compensation is known. The project has also not yet published a complete list of affected addresses or a migration procedure for users with older risky seeds.
What to watch next
- Qubic’s technical report on the cause of the error, affected seeds, and the recommended procedure for users,
- the Computors’ decision on restarting the network and the fate of tokens linked to the incident,
- any direct statement from MEXC regarding the receiving account and the status of the funds,
- publication of a list of affected addresses or a migration procedure for older seeds.
Sources
- Qubic Wallet GitHub Releases – The official release of version 4.26.4 on October 18, 2026, cites an update to seedgen and cryptographically secure seed generation.
- Qubic Explorer – The explorer lists the current tick as 85 371 949, matching the tick at which the network was reportedly halted.
- Cointelegraph – Cites Qubic’s statement on the number of affected wallets, the network halt, the scope of stolen QU, and the planned vote on restoration.
- Qubic Ecosystem Map – incident checker – The community overview lists 1,404 drained addresses, token flows, and the declared distribution of funds between on-chain addresses and MEXC; these figures should be considered unaudited.
Verified and updated: October 19, 2026 06:25
