Qubic, a smaller crypto network, halted its blockchain on 18 October after an attacker drained 1,404 wallets of about 2.94 trillion QU, worth roughly $1.3 to $1.4 million. Qubic says the problem wasn't the blockchain itself. Its wallet software made some recovery phrases with weak randomness, so an attacker could guess them. Most of the stolen coins are now frozen, but no refund has been promised.

What happened

Per Qubic's own account, the drain ran for about 104 minutes, from 23:42 UTC on 17 October to 01:26 UTC on 18 October. The network's operators then halted the chain. Validators froze about 87% of the stolen QU on-chain, and the MEXC exchange froze the rest after it was sent there. Bitget and MEXC paused QUBIC deposits and withdrawals, and the token fell more than 10%. There's no date yet for the network to restart.

Which wallets were at risk

Qubic says the weak seeds came from three places: wallets created in any browser on an iPhone or iPad before 18 October, in Safari on a Mac before 18 October, and in the Qubic iOS app before July 2025. Wallet version 4.26.4 fixes how new seeds are made. Reports say the fix only protects seeds created after the update, so an old seed from one of those places stays risky even if it wasn't drained.

What to do if you hold QU

  • Check where you first created your wallet. If it was one of the three places above, plan to make a new seed on the fixed version and move your coins once the network is running again. That's our reading of the reports, so confirm it on Qubic's official channels first.
  • Expect fake "Qubic support" and "refund" messages. Real support never asks for your recovery phrase, and nobody needs a fee to return frozen coins.
  • Was your wallet drained? Qubic says victims should file a police report. In the US, you can also report at ic3.gov.

The lesson for every wallet

A recovery phrase is only as safe as the randomness that made it. Wallets made on a website or in a browser lean on software you can't check. For savings you can't afford to lose, a hardware wallet bought straight from the maker makes its own seed offline. Our hot vs cold wallet guide explains the trade-off, and our fresh-seed guide shows how to move to a new seed safely.

Sources: Qubic incident statement, 18 Oct 2026, Crypto Briefing, Blockonomi, The Crypto Times, FBI IC3 (report a crime).