Ravencoin network exploited a critical consensus vulnerability allowing invalid blocks; major pools mining alternate chain, price down 20%, exchanges advised to halt deposits/withdrawals.
Security & Exploits ·
Ravencoin experienced a critical consensus vulnerability that allowed invalid blocks onto its network beginning at block height 4,487,776 on August 7, causing the RVN token to fall roughly 20% in value. The flaw enabled weak nodes to accept blocks that violated the protocol's rules, breaking the core mechanism by which proof-of-work systems determine which chain is legitimate. Two major mining pools, 2Miners and RavenMiner, which together command majority hashpower, announced they would extend a separate chain that bypasses the compromised blocks entirely.
If the alternate chain achieves dominance, the network would undergo a deep reorganization spanning approximately three days, erasing transactions and other activity from that period. The project's developer sought to negotiate a less disruptive recovery point with the pools but was unsuccessful. Exchanges including Upbit and Bitvavo have already halted RVN deposit and withdrawal activity in response to the disruption.
The remediation path requires reverting to block 4,487,775 as the final valid block and resuming from there. Transactions confirmed after that point face reversal risk, though the project cautioned that reversed deposits or withdrawals are not guaranteed to reappear or confirm again once mining resumes. Uncertainty remains over whether the pools' alternate chain will achieve network dominance and whether the recovery effort will stabilize the chain state without further complications.