Gate News message, April 26 — Litecoin experienced a deep chain reorganization (reorg) on Saturday after attackers exploited a zero-day vulnerability in its MimbleWimble Extension Block (MWEB) privacy layer, according to the Litecoin Foundation. The reorg spanned blocks 3,095,930 to 3,095,943 and took over three hours to complete.
The vulnerability allowed mining nodes running older software to validate invalid MWEB transactions, enabling attackers to peg coins out of the privacy extension and route them to third-party decentralized exchanges. Major mining pools were simultaneously targeted with denial-of-service attacks exploiting the same flaw. According to Aurora Labs CEO Alex Shevchenko, attackers performed double-spend attacks against multiple cross-chain swapping protocols during the reorganization window. NEAR Intents reported exposure of approximately $600,000 from the incident.
The Litecoin Foundation confirmed that all offending transactions have been erased from the blockchain while valid transactions during the period remain unaffected. The vulnerability has been fully patched. LTC traded near $56 on Saturday evening, down approximately 1% on the day, with no immediate market reaction to the disclosure. The token is down nearly 25% year-to-date. This marks the first known attack targeting MWEB since its activation via soft fork in May 2022.
The incident occurs amid elevated security concerns in crypto, with DeFi protocols suffering over $750 million in losses to exploits through mid-April 2026, including the $292 million Kelp DAO bridge drain on April 19 and a $285 million attack on Drift on April 1. Cross-chain infrastructure has been a common attack surface in recent incidents.
Disclaimer: The information on this page may come from third parties and does not represent the views or opinions of Gate. The content displayed on this page is for reference only and does not constitute any financial, investment, or legal advice. Gate does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information and shall not be liable for any losses arising from the use of this information. Virtual asset investments carry high risks and are subject to significant price volatility. You may lose all of your invested principal. Please fully understand the relevant risks and make prudent decisions based on your own financial situation and risk tolerance. For details, please refer to
Disclaimer.
Related Articles
U.S. DOJ Drops Criminal Probe Into Fed Chair Powell, Clearing Path for Crypto-Friendly Kevin Warsh Confirmation
Gate News message, April 26 — The U.S. Department of Justice has dropped its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday (April 25), clearing the way for the Senate to confirm incoming central bank chair Kevin Warsh. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine
GateNews33m ago
US Sanctions Iran-Linked Crypto Wallets; Tether Freezes $344 Million in USDT
Gate News message, April 26 — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the federal government is sanctioning multiple wallets linked to Iran as part of efforts to increase economic pressure on the country. The move follows Tether's decision on Thursday, April 24, to freeze $344 million w
GateNews1h ago
Two South Korean Army Officers Sentenced to 2 Years for Illegal Crypto Exchange Operations and Drug Money Laundering
Gate News message, April 26 — Two active-duty South Korean Army officers in their 30s from the Special Warfare Command were each sentenced to two years in prison and fined 54.69 million Korean won by Changwon District Court on April 26 for operating an unlicensed virtual asset exchange and
GateNews1h ago
Apecoin Insider Turns $174K Into $2.45M in One Day With 14x Trade on Both Sides of 80% Surge
An anonymous wallet with no prior trading history turned $174,000 worth of ether into $2.45 million by trading Apecoin on both sides of an 80% price surge in a single day.
Key Takeaways:
Wallet 0x0b8a converted $174,000 in ETH into a leveraged Apecoin long, exiting near the top for a $1.79M
Coinpedia1h ago
Hong Kong Police Dismantle Cross-Border Fraud Ring Targeting Overseas Students, Seizing HK$5M in Assets
Gate News message, April 26 — Hong Kong police have dismantled a cross-border fraud ring that targeted overseas Chinese students studying abroad, according to local media. The syndicate impersonated law enforcement officials and coerced victims into traveling to Hong Kong to purchase gold bars as "c
GateNews1h ago
Brazil Bans Kalshi, Polymarket Citing Investor Protection Concerns
Brazil has enacted a sweeping ban on prediction markets and betting platforms, according to local media and government filings. The two leading prediction markets, Polymarket and Kalshi, were inaccessible to researchers based in the country following the ban.
Regulatory Framework and Scope
The
CryptoFrontier1h ago