Written by Felix Ng staff editor Edited by Yohan Yun staff editor Written by Felix Ng staff editor Edited by Yohan Yun staff editor Qubic freezes chain after attacker drains 1.4K wallets with weak seeds Latest News Published Oct 19, 2026 Qubic says 87.1% of the stolen funds remain onchain and the rest were frozen at crypto exchange MEXC, as network validators prepare to vote on a recovery plan. Layer-1 blockchain network Qubic halted operations Sunday after an attacker reportedly exploited weakly generated wallet seeds to drain approximately $1.4 million from more than 1,400 accounts, according to the project. In a statement on X, Qubic said the network was halted at tick 85,371,949, where it remains paused at the time of writing. Qubic said the vulnerability affected wallet seeds generated using any browser on an iPhone or iPad, Safari on a Mac until Oct. 18, 2026, or the Qubic iOS app before July 2025, leading to 2.94 trillion Qubit (QU) stolen. “87.1% of the drained funds never left the Qubic network and remain frozen in place,” said Qubic. “The remaining 12.9% was sent to MEXC, whose team froze the receiving account within about an hour.” The Qubic theft is the latest in a series of attacks tied to weak wallet seeds . In July, Coldcard disclosed that attackers had stolen funds from wallets whose seeds were weakened by a firmware bug. Similar flaws affected Trust Wallet’s browser extension and the Libbitcoin Explorer tool in 2023. Related: Bitget’s $388M hack pushes Q3 crypto security losses past $1B Qubic said it has fixed the seed-generation flaw in the latest version of its web wallet. A GitHub commit for version 4.26.4 shows that Qubic replaced JavaScript’s Math.random() function, which is not suitable for generating cryptographic secrets, with the cryptographically secure crypto.getRandomValues() function when creating wallet seeds. Qubic said its core team is identifying affected wallets and preparing recovery options for a vote by the network’s Computors, which will decide what happens to the frozen funds. The team said it would publish a full technical report after a recovery plan is settled. It has not announced when the network will restart. Qubic did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. Qubic is a layer-1 blockchain that supports transactions and smart contracts without fees. It is built on Useful Proof of Work (UPoW) – a consensus mechanism that repurposes mining energy to train artificial intelligence. Qubic’s token had a market capitalization of about $62.6 million at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko. In the third quarter, hacks and exploits accounted for 19% of crypto crime cases but 40% of reported losses, according to AMLBot’s 2026 investigations report , which looked at 250 investigations it opened since the start of the year. Magazine: Richard Heart caught ‘off-guard,’ QDay gets even closer: Hodler’s Digest Subscribe to daily byte-sized crypto news from Cointelegraph Subscribe Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently. Seed Phrase Cryptography Blockchain More on the subject Balaji’s ‘Singapore of social media’ begins with a wave of bans Oct 16, 2026 Felix Ng Polygon gains US payments licenses after closing Coinme deal Oct 15, 2026 Felix Ng ‘Bunker mode’ won’t protect your crypto, critics say Oct 14, 2026 Christina Comben Balaji’s ‘Singapore of social media’ begins with a wave of bans Oct 16, 2026 Felix Ng Polygon gains US payments licenses after closing Coinme deal Oct 15, 2026 Felix Ng ‘Bunker mode’ won’t protect your crypto, critics say Oct 14, 2026 Christina Comben

Written by William Suberg staff writer Edited by Sam Bourgi staff editor Written by William Suberg staff writer Edited by Sam Bourgi staff editor Bitcoin price steadies around $82K after Fed’s Warsh avoids rate-hike hints Markets Published Oct 16, 2026 Bitcoin held above $80,000 as South Korean tech stocks recovered from a sell-off and traders lowered their expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike. Bitcoin (BTC) traded near $82,000 around Friday’s Wall Street open as crypto markets stabilized alongside a rebound in South Korean stocks. Key points: Bitcoin price volatility eased as South Korean stocks rebounded 2% on Friday, offering relief after a steep sell-off. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh gave no indication of further interest-rate hikes during a public discussion, as traders lowered the odds of a 25-basis-point increase in October to 15%. Analysts warned of difficult choices for Washington as the 10-year US Treasury yield climbed back to 5.13% and US stocks traded in a narrow range. Traders see dovish edge to Warsh comments Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD holding most of its reclaimed ground after bouncing at $80,000 on Thursday. BTC/USD four-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView The earlier decline followed a weeklong sell-off in South Korean tech stocks, although Friday’s Asian trading session brought some relief. The KOSPI Composite Index closed at 5,668, up 2% on the day but still down 8.3% for the week. KOSPI Composite Index one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView US stocks largely avoided the sell-off in Asian markets but were mixed on Friday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index down 0.5% and the S&P 500 up 0.5%. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh offered investors some relief by avoiding any mention of further interest-rate hikes during a discussion with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. “I don’t prejudge meetings. I don’t believe in saying now what I might do at the meetings that we have in the balance of this year,” he said . Markets appeared to take Warsh’s tone as a dovish signal on rate hikes. Data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool showed the probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike in October falling to 15%, down from 27% the previous day. Fed target-rate probabilities for October FOMC meeting (screenshot). Source: CME Group Economist Robin Brooks suggested that stress in the AI sector, a key driver of the Korea sell-off, could be at the heart of the Fed chair’s more aloof approach. “Warsh gave no indication the Fed’s in any hurry to hike, so the October meeting is now pretty much off the table in terms of a hike,” he wrote in a blog post, adding: “What’s helping the Fed is fears of an AI blow-up, which is making markets more receptive to a dovish message.” US bond yields eye rebound as stocks halt upside Elsewhere, US bond yields began rising as stocks steadied, prompting suggestions that the US treasury may ultimately be forced to choose between taming the bond sell-off and keeping stocks bullish. The US 10-year yield stood at 5.07% on Friday, having briefly attempted to reverse higher, reaching 5.13%. US 10-year bond yield one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView Related: Bitcoin may seek 20-month trend line reclaim before new record highs: CryptoQuant Market commentator The Kobeissi Letter noted that stock weakness has been the sole source of bond-yield corrections since August. In an X analysis published Thursday, Koebissi suggested equities may be in a paradoxical “‘bull-bear’ market.” Without the US-Iran war, stocks would be far higher, it argued, adding that persistent inflation was driving investor demand for asset exposure — even as the Fed began a new rate-hike cycle. “Even as the S&P 500 hits year #5 of its bull market, we believe a steep discount is currently priced into equities. This discount has functioned as a ‘stealth’ bear market, suppressing equity valuations in the world’s largest and fastest-growing companies,” it concluded, adding: “This backdrop has the ability to catalyze a violent rally in the S&P 500 if and when it is ultimately priced-out.” S&P 500 average bull-market returns comparison. Source: The Kobeissi Letter on X.com Subscribe to daily byte-sized crypto news from Cointelegraph Subscribe This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph's Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research. 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