The Zano network has wiped out a full month of its operational history. The development team decided to restart the blockchain back to block 3,833,000 to patch a fatal security vulnerability in its Gateway Address feature. The loophole allowed ZANO and Freedom Dollar (fUSD) tokens to enter circulation without limit.
Restoring the chain automatically wiped all legitimate transactions that took place over the past month. The drastic move requires all node operators, miners, stakers, exchanges, and other services to immediately install the latest software to stay connected to the newly restored chain.
While turning back the clock preserved the internal system, it leaves settlement gaps for external assets.
The Limits of a Rollback
The decision to restart the network cannot reverse transactions that have already settled on other blockchains. Assets already swapped into USDT, DAI, or other tokens on separate networks will remain valid and out of reach of Zano’s rollback.
Users are now urged to safeguard all transaction IDs and trading records themselves. They are also required to double-check the status of past transfers before initiating any new payments. The Zano team promised a compensation and refund claims process to address user losses resulting from the rollback, although a technical post-mortem on the exploit has yet to be published.
A Year-Long Feature Cracked in Days
The root of the exploit dates back to August 26, 2026, when the network activated Hard Fork 6 at block 3,833,000. The upgrade introduced Gateway Addresses, an integration feature developed for over a year before finally launching on mainnet.
Gateway Addresses were specifically designed to help crypto exchanges, bridges, and payment providers integrate Zano. The feature offers an account-style single-balance model, diverging from Zano’s native UTXO framework.
Registering a Gateway address cost 100 ZANO, which was permanently burned from total supply. On-chain data indicates at least two Gateway Addresses were registered during the feature’s first week live.
Zano’s head of marketing, Quinten van Welzen, emphasized that leaving the exploit unaddressed would have caused far worse damage. “Doing nothing meant illegitimate ZANO and fUSD circulating unchecked, diluting every holder and breaking the most fundamental promise of a currency: fixed supply,” he stated.
Erasing the transaction ledger for the past month became Zano’s only path to saving asset value. While the currency’s fixed supply is now secured, the burden of reconciling pending cross-chain transactions has shifted onto users.
Reported by Cointelegraph.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
