Audit log

Every state-changing event for Ravencoin (RVN): moderation decisions on community submissions, plus corrections and updates from the news pipeline. URL-based decisions are designed to carry three independent witnesses — the original source, an Internet Archive snapshot, and a Solana memo signed by our publicly-disclosed publisher key. Archive coverage is still being backfilled, so each decision below reports its own snapshot status rather than assuming one exists.

1. #1publishby system:backfill

   2026-08-12 23:09:24Z
   Score: ? → ? (no score change)
   anchorpending

   chain

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   hash

   6wnVj43Y6CW5…oog9Xc7zcopysha256 → base58

   verifying row…

   canonical bytes (22190 B) ▸

   {"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"1501a1f9-c595-4fbd-81cc-e4ee6619804c","kind":"publish","page_slug":"ravencoin-rvn","published_at":"2026-08-12T23:09:24.904Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Ravencoin (RVN)","sections":[{"content":"The Ravencoin network uses KAWPOW, a memory-intensive proof-of-work algorithm designed to be ASIC-resistant. A critical flaw in KAWPOW's block header validation was exploited on mainnet starting August 7, 2026. The vulnerability centered on the nHeight field embedded in each block header: vulnerable nodes failed to verify the declared nHeight against the block's actual position in the chain. An attacker could manipulate this value to reach a validation code path that bypassed the normal memory-intensive KAWPOW proof-of-work computation entirely, allowing the production of invalid blocks at a cost described as 'orders of magnitude cheaper' than legitimate mining. The first confirmed invalid block appeared at height 4,487,776 at 15:44:01 UTC on August 7, 2026. Analysis of a 2,089-block sample range (heights 4,489,527 to 4,491,615) identified 96 malicious blocks, indicating systematic and sustained exploitation rather than isolated incidents. Multiple parties are alleged to have produced invalid blocks following the initial demonstration of the flaw.","heading":"The KAWPOW Consensus Vulnerability","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Faces 3-Day Reorg After Critical KAWPOW Exploit — CoinPaper","type":"news_article","url":"https://coinpaper.com/34130/ravencoin-faces-3-day-reorg-after-critical-kawpow-exploit"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin falls 19% as consensus flaw splits network — Crypto.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/ravencoin-falls-as-consensus-flaw-splits-network/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Project Raven / Ravencoin official network notice on X","type":"official","url":"https://x.com/Ravencoin/status/2086862580014850412"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Faces Deep Reorg Risk After Consensus Bug Exploited — Metaverse Post","type":"news_article","url":"https://mpost.io/ravencoin-faces-deep-reorg-risk-after-consensus-bug-exploited-exchanges-told-to-suspend-rvn-flows/"}]},{"content":"The exploitation of the KAWPOW flaw created a contested chain state. Two major mining pools, 2Miners and RavenMiner, which together control a majority of Ravencoin's hashrate, announced they would begin mining an alternative chain excluding all blocks from height 4,487,776 onward, treating block 4,487,775 as the last valid checkpoint. Because these pools represent a majority of network hashrate, their alternative chain had the potential to become the dominant chain, which under Bitcoin-derived consensus rules would trigger a deep blockchain reorganization. Such a reorg would reverse approximately three days of confirmed transactions, returning them to the mempool without any guarantee they would be reconfirmed. Ravencoin's official notice stated that 'transactions confirmed after block 4,487,775 should be treated as potentially reversible' and urged users to 'avoid relying on recent confirmations until the network stabilizes.' The Ravencoin team requested that pools use a more recent recovery point to reduce the scope of disruption, but the major pools declined this request and proceeded independently. As of reporting on August 11, 2026, the reorg had not yet been confirmed as completed or resolved.","heading":"Three-Day Reorganization Risk and Chain Split","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Network Faces Critical Consensus Vulnerability, Risk of 3-Day Chain Reorganization — KuCoin","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/ravencoin-network-faces-critical-consensus-vulnerability-risk-of-3-day-chain-reorganization"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Faces Deep Reorg Risk After Consensus Bug Exploited — Metaverse Post","type":"news_article","url":"https://mpost.io/ravencoin-faces-deep-reorg-risk-after-consensus-bug-exploited-exchanges-told-to-suspend-rvn-flows/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Faces 3-Day Reorg After Critical KAWPOW Exploit — CryptoRank","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptorank.io/news/feed/432e8-ravencoin-faces-3-day-reorg-after-critical-kawpow-exploit"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Ravencoin Crashes 20% as Critical Exploit Threatens to Rollback Network — Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/375330/ravencoin-crashes-critical-exploit-threatens-rollback"}]},{"content":"In response to the consensus instability, multiple centralized exchanges suspended RVN deposits and withdrawals. Confirmed suspensions include Upbit (South Korea), which froze RVN deposit and withdrawal services and flagged RVN pairs across KRW, BTC, and USDT trading pairs; Bitget, which halted transfers as a precautionary measure; and Bitvavo (Netherlands), which implemented a similar freeze. KuCoin published an advisory relaying Ravencoin's recommendation that all exchanges temporarily suspend RVN flows. Upbit and Bithumb placed RVN on watchlists, raising the risk of delisting from crucial Korean liquidity markets. RVN's market price fell approximately 18-20% within 24 hours of the public disclosure on August 10-11, 2026, declining from approximately $0.0055 to around $0.00287-$0.00292. Market capitalization dropped to approximately $46-47 million. Trading volume surged approximately 1,118% in the 24-hour period following disclosure, reflecting panic selling. No specific amounts of funds are confirmed stolen or double-spent, though all transactions confirmed between block 4,487,776 and the recovery point remained at risk of reversal.","heading":"Exchange Suspensions and Market Impact","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Falls 18% as Exchanges Suspend RVN Transfers — CryptoTimes","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/08/11/ravencoin-falls-18-as-exchanges-suspend-rvn-transfers/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin falls 19% as consensus flaw splits network — Crypto.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/ravencoin-falls-as-consensus-flaw-splits-network/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Consensus Vulnerability Disrupts Network Integrity — Cryptonomist","type":"news_article","url":"https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2026/08/11/ravencoin-consensus-vulnerability/"}]},{"content":"The emergency software fix — version 4.6.1.1-hf1 — was not produced by the Ravencoin core development team. It was written and released by mining pool 2Miners. Reporting indicated that upstream Ravencoin development was effectively inactive at the time of the exploit, with no official fix published by the core team. 2Miners released its own patch, which rejects blocks with mismatched declared and actual nHeight values from block 4,487,776 onward and establishes a checkpoint. Ravencoin maintainer Hans Schmidt is reported to have recommended using the 2Miners code as an interim fix for the mining validation problem, while noting that a separate asset transfer quantity overflow bug had not yet been addressed in the same release. The situation in which mining infrastructure operators — rather than developers — wrote, distributed, and unilaterally decided the parameters of the network recovery represents a significant governance failure. When the core team requested a shallower recovery point that would reduce disruption, the pools declined. All node operators, exchanges, and services were urged to upgrade to the 2Miners patch immediately to restore network stability.","heading":"Emergency Patch and Governance Failure","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin's Fix for Its Third Consensus Failure Is Coming From a Mining Pool, Not Its Own Team — Cryip.co","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryip.co/ravencoin-consensus-failure-fix-mining-pool-not-core-team/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Faces 3-Day Reorg After Critical KAWPOW Exploit — CoinPaper","type":"news_article","url":"https://coinpaper.com/34130/ravencoin-faces-3-day-reorg-after-critical-kawpow-exploit"}]},{"content":"The August 2026 incident is reported to be the third known consensus or supply integrity failure in Ravencoin's history. In July 2020, an inflation exploit was used to mint approximately 301.8 to 315 million counterfeit RVN tokens — roughly 1.5% of the total 21 billion supply cap — worth approximately $5.7 million at the time. The exploit was discovered by the CryptoScope team and reported to the project. The inflated tokens were transferred to exchanges and traded before the fix, making recovery of the fraudulent supply impossible without harming legitimate holders. A patch was enforced at block 1,304,352 on July 4, 2020. An earlier 2019 incident involving asset issuance bugs was identified by Raptoreum. The pattern of externally discovered and externally patched vulnerabilities across multiple years underscores persistent concerns about the adequacy of Ravencoin's internal security review processes.","heading":"History of Consensus and Supply Failures","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Hackers Exploit Vulnerability in Ravencoin Protocol to Mint 315 Million Fake RVN Coins — CryptoPotato","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptopotato.com/hackers-exploit-vulnerability-in-ravencoin-protocol-to-mint-315-million-fake-rvn-coins/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Vulnerability in Ravencoin Creates Extra 1.5% of Maximum Supply for Hackers — CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/vulnerability-in-ravencoin-creates-extra-15-of-maximum-supply-for-hackers"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin's Fix for Its Third Consensus Failure Is Coming From a Mining Pool, Not Its Own Team — Cryip.co","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryip.co/ravencoin-consensus-failure-fix-mining-pool-not-core-team/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The anatomy of Ravencoin exploit finding — CryptoScope via Medium","type":"research","url":"https://medium.com/@cryproscope/the-anatomy-of-ravencoin-exploit-finding-8fa4fe7547a9"}]},{"content":"No confirmed double-spend incidents resulting in documented financial losses have been reported as of August 11, 2026. However, all transactions confirmed between block height 4,487,776 and the eventual recovery block are at structural risk of reversal if the 2Miners and RavenMiner alternative chain becomes dominant. Ravencoin's official notice explicitly stated that 'affected transactions may return to the mempool and be mined again, but this is not guaranteed.' The three-day window of affected transactions encompasses a substantial volume of on-chain activity. Any exchange deposits, withdrawals, or over-the-counter trades settled during this window using RVN confirmations from the contested chain could be subject to reversal. A three-day gap existed between the first exploited block (August 7) and the public disclosure (approximately August 10-11), meaning transactions were accepted and processed by exchanges during this period without awareness of the underlying chain integrity issue.","heading":"Double-Spend Risk and Transaction Reversibility","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Faces Deep Reorg Risk After Consensus Bug Exploited — Metaverse Post","type":"news_article","url":"https://mpost.io/ravencoin-faces-deep-reorg-risk-after-consensus-bug-exploited-exchanges-told-to-suspend-rvn-flows/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Falls 18% as Exchanges Suspend RVN Transfers — CryptoTimes","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/08/11/ravencoin-falls-18-as-exchanges-suspend-rvn-transfers/"}]},{"content":"The August 2026 incident illustrates structural risks arising from hash rate concentration on small proof-of-work networks. Two mining pools — 2Miners and RavenMiner — appear to control sufficient combined hashrate to unilaterally determine which chain becomes canonical. These pools exercised that power by declining the core team's request for a shallower reorg and instead proceeding with their preferred recovery approach. While their actions are framed as protective in this instance, the same concentration of hash rate could theoretically be leveraged for a 51% attack or other adverse action. The incident has drawn comparison to the broader vulnerability class facing smaller PoW networks with limited hash rate diversity. Ravencoin's KAWPOW algorithm was specifically designed to resist ASIC mining and maintain GPU mining accessibility, partly to preserve hashrate decentralization, yet meaningful concentration among pools persists.","heading":"Network Centralization and Hash Rate Concentration Risk","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin's Fix for Its Third Consensus Failure Is Coming From a Mining Pool, Not Its Own Team — Cryip.co","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryip.co/ravencoin-consensus-failure-fix-mining-pool-not-core-team/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Ravencoin Crashes 20% as Critical Exploit Threatens to Rollback Network — Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/375330/ravencoin-crashes-critical-exploit-threatens-rollback"}]},{"content":"As of August 11, 2026, the situation remained actively developing. The emergency patch v4.6.1.1-hf1 released by 2Miners was the only available fix for the KAWPOW block height validation flaw. A separate asset transfer quantity overflow bug identified in the codebase had not yet been addressed in any released patch. Ravencoin advised all node operators, mining pools, exchanges, and service providers to upgrade immediately. Multiple exchanges maintained suspension of RVN deposits and withdrawals pending network stabilization. The Ravencoin project did not have a confirmed timeline for an official core-team-issued patch as of the reporting date. Whether the 2Miners alternative chain ultimately triggered a completed three-day reorganization, or whether the network converged on a different resolution, had not been confirmed in available sources at the time of this investigation.","heading":"Current Status and Unresolved Items","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Network News: Consensus Bug Sparks 3-Day Reorg Threat — CoinGabbar","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coingabbar.com/en/crypto-currency-news/ravencoin-network-news"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Faces 3-Day Reorg After Critical KAWPOW Exploit — CoinPaper","type":"news_article","url":"https://coinpaper.com/34130/ravencoin-faces-3-day-reorg-after-critical-kawpow-exploit"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Ravencoin Crashes 20% as Critical Exploit Threatens to Rollback Network — Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/375330/ravencoin-crashes-critical-exploit-threatens-rollback"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Vulnerability in Ravencoin Creates Extra 1.5% of Maximum Supply for Hackers — CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/vulnerability-in-ravencoin-creates-extra-15-of-maximum-supply-for-hackers"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Project Raven / Ravencoin official network notice on X","type":"official","url":"https://x.com/Ravencoin/status/2086862580014850412"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin falls 19% as consensus flaw splits network — Crypto.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/ravencoin-falls-as-consensus-flaw-splits-network/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Faces 3-Day Reorg After Critical KAWPOW Exploit — CoinPaper","type":"news_article","url":"https://coinpaper.com/34130/ravencoin-faces-3-day-reorg-after-critical-kawpow-exploit"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Faces 3-Day Reorg After Critical KAWPOW Exploit — CryptoRank","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptorank.io/news/feed/432e8-ravencoin-faces-3-day-reorg-after-critical-kawpow-exploit"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Faces Deep Reorg Risk After Consensus Bug Exploited — Metaverse Post","type":"news_article","url":"https://mpost.io/ravencoin-faces-deep-reorg-risk-after-consensus-bug-exploited-exchanges-told-to-suspend-rvn-flows/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Falls 18% as Exchanges Suspend RVN Transfers — CryptoTimes","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/08/11/ravencoin-falls-18-as-exchanges-suspend-rvn-transfers/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin's Fix for Its Third Consensus Failure Is Coming From a Mining Pool, Not Its Own Team — Cryip.co","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryip.co/ravencoin-consensus-failure-fix-mining-pool-not-core-team/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Network Faces Critical Consensus Vulnerability, Risk of 3-Day Chain Reorganization — KuCoin","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/ravencoin-network-faces-critical-consensus-vulnerability-risk-of-3-day-chain-reorganization"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Consensus Vulnerability Disrupts Network Integrity — Cryptonomist","type":"news_article","url":"https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2026/08/11/ravencoin-consensus-vulnerability/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ravencoin Network News: Consensus Bug Sparks 3-Day Reorg Threat — CoinGabbar","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coingabbar.com/en/crypto-currency-news/ravencoin-network-news"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Hackers Exploit Vulnerability in Ravencoin Protocol to Mint 315 Million Fake RVN Coins — CryptoPotato","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptopotato.com/hackers-exploit-vulnerability-in-ravencoin-protocol-to-mint-315-million-fake-rvn-coins/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The anatomy of Ravencoin exploit finding — CryptoScope via Medium","type":"research","url":"https://medium.com/@cryproscope/the-anatomy-of-ravencoin-exploit-finding-8fa4fe7547a9"}],"summary":"In August 2026, Ravencoin's mainnet suffered a critical consensus vulnerability in its KAWPOW proof-of-work algorithm that allowed attackers to produce invalid blocks at a fraction of normal mining cost, beginning at block height 4,487,776 on August 7, 2026. Majority mining pools took unilateral control of the recovery process, issuing a patch without the core development team and threatening a deep three-day blockchain reorganization that would reverse all transactions since block 4,487,775. The incident — the network's third known consensus or supply failure — triggered an approximately 19-20% price crash, exchange-wide suspension of RVN transfers, and raised acute governance concerns about the project's effectively inactive development team.","timeline":[{"date":"2019-01-01","event":"Raptoreum discovers asset issuance bugs in Ravencoin — the first known externally-identified consensus-level vulnerability (approximate year; precise date not confirmed in available sources).","source":"Cryip.co — Ravencoin's Fix for Its Third Consensus Failure Is Coming From a Mining Pool","source_url":"https://cryip.co/ravencoin-consensus-failure-fix-mining-pool-not-core-team/"},{"date":"2020-07-02","event":"Ravencoin discloses that hackers minted approximately 301.8-315 million counterfeit RVN tokens (~1.5% of maximum supply, worth ~$5.7M) by exploiting a coinbase block reward logic flaw. CryptoScope credited with discovery.","source":"CoinTelegraph — Vulnerability in Ravencoin Creates Extra 1.5% of Maximum Supply for Hackers","source_url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/vulnerability-in-ravencoin-creates-extra-15-of-maximum-supply-for-hackers"},{"date":"2020-07-04","event":"Ravencoin enforces inflation exploit patch at block 1,304,352, closing the 2020 supply inflation vulnerability.","source":"CryptoPotato — Hackers Exploit Vulnerability in Ravencoin Protocol to Mint 315 Million Fake RVN Coins","source_url":"https://cryptopotato.com/hackers-exploit-vulnerability-in-ravencoin-protocol-to-mint-315-million-fake-rvn-coins/"},{"date":"2026-08-07","event":"First confirmed exploitation of KAWPOW nHeight block header validation flaw at block height 4,487,776 at 15:44:01 UTC. Attackers begin producing invalid blocks at minimal cost. Multiple additional parties alleged to have subsequently exploited the same flaw.","source":"Project Raven / Ravencoin official notice on X","source_url":"https://x.com/Ravencoin/status/2086862580014850412"},{"date":"2026-08-10","event":"Ravencoin issues public network notice disclosing the consensus vulnerability. Exchanges are advised to suspend RVN deposits and withdrawals. Block 4,487,775 established as the last safe checkpoint. Three-day delay between first exploit and public disclosure.","source":"Ravencoin Falls 18% as Exchanges Suspend RVN Transfers — CryptoTimes","source_url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/08/11/ravencoin-falls-18-as-exchanges-suspend-rvn-transfers/"},{"date":"2026-08-10","event":"Mining pools 2Miners and RavenMiner announce they are mining an alternative chain from block 4,487,775, excluding all exploited blocks. The pools decline the core team's request for a shallower, less disruptive recovery point.","source":"Ravencoin Faces Deep Reorg Risk After Consensus Bug Exploited — Metaverse Post","source_url":"https://mpost.io/ravencoin-faces-deep-reorg-risk-after-consensus-bug-exploited-exchanges-told-to-suspend-rvn-flows/"},{"date":"2026-08-11","event":"RVN price falls approximately 18-20% to ~$0.00287-$0.00292, reaching record lows. Trading volume spikes ~1,118%. Upbit, Bitget, and Bitvavo confirm suspension of RVN transfers. Emergency patch v4.6.1.1-hf1 released by 2Miners — not the Ravencoin core team — becomes the only available fix.","source":"Decrypt — Ravencoin Crashes 20% as Critical Exploit Threatens to Rollback Network","source_url":"https://decrypt.co/375330/ravencoin-crashes-critical-exploit-threatens-rollback"},{"date":"2026-08-11","event":"Reporting notes upstream Ravencoin development is effectively inactive; no core-team patch published. A secondary asset transfer quantity overflow bug remains unpatched in any released software version.","source":"Ravencoin's Fix for Its Third Consensus Failure Is Coming From a Mining Pool, Not Its Own Team — Cryip.co","source_url":"https://cryip.co/ravencoin-consensus-failure-fix-mining-pool-not-core-team/"}]},"v":1}

   Verify offline (run on your own machine)

   python -m src.verify_decision 0e4517af-847e-4f03-85b5-10e9cacab125copy