TLDR
- Zano restarted its blockchain at block 3,833,000, erasing about one month of transaction history.
- A vulnerability in Gateway Addresses let unauthorized ZANO and Freedom Dollar tokens enter circulation.
- MEXC paused ZANO and FUSD deposits and withdrawals during the migration.
- Zano says reimbursement will come from developer and team funds, not new token issuance.
- ZANO price dropped more than 12% in 24 hours as the recovery unfolded.
Zano, a privacy-focused layer-1 blockchain, has restarted its network after a vulnerability allowed unauthorized tokens to enter circulation. The rollback erases roughly one month of blockchain history.
Zano network update: Recovery solution for Gateway Address vulnerability
The core team has identified a serious issue involving Gateway Addresses, which enabled unauthorized ZANO and fUSD to enter circulation.
Our investigation has found no compromise of wallet spend keys or…
— Zano (@zano_project) September 27, 2026
The chain was restarted at block 3,833,000. This is the block that came right before Hard Fork 6, which introduced a feature called Gateway Addresses in August.
What Caused the Rollback
Gateway Addresses were built to help exchanges, bridges and payment services connect to Zano more easily. They gave these services a single account-style balance instead of the usual output-tracking system Zano wallets use.
A flaw in this feature allowed unauthorized ZANO and Freedom Dollar tokens to be created without limit. Zano’s team said this broke the fixed supply promise the currency is built on.
The team has not yet released a full technical report explaining exactly how the exploit worked. It said normal wallet keys and transaction privacy were not affected.
Registering a Gateway Address required a one-time fee of 100 ZANO, which was burned. Records show at least two addresses were registered in the feature’s first week.
How the Recovery Works
The rollback requires miners, stakers, nodes, exchanges and other services to install new software and follow the recovered chain. A release, version 2.2.3.600, was published for this purpose.
Ordinary wallet users can update without re-entering seed phrases. Zano has started restoring its own services, including its mobile wallet node.
Third-party platforms must update on their own schedule. Zano told users to check whether an exchange or wallet has migrated before sending funds.
MEXC suspended deposits and withdrawals for ZANO and FUSD while it works through the migration. No restart time had been announced as of publication.
Quinten van Welzen, Zano’s head of marketing and growth, said the team cannot force a rollback on its own. He said developers can only release software and ask node operators to adopt it.
He added that large mining pools carry weight in this decision. A wider base of independent operators would make the network stronger, he said.
Transactions made during the affected month will not appear on the recovered chain. This includes legitimate payments as well as the unauthorized tokens.
The rollback cannot undo transactions that were already settled on other blockchains. Funds converted to USDT, DAI or other tokens on separate networks stay outside its reach.
Zano said it is working with affected projects to calculate losses. A formal reimbursement and claims process has not yet been published.
Van Welzen said funding for reimbursement will come from the development fund, team holdings and large holders. He said no new ZANO will be created to cover losses.
Early statements from the project described a shorter rollback while the scale of the issue was still being assessed. Van Welzen later said those initial comments were made before the team fully understood the problem.
The final rollback stretched to about one month once investigators traced the full scope of the exploit.
Price and What Comes Next
ZANO traded near $6.32 during the recovery, down about 12.85% over 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. Its market capitalization stood near $97.6 million.
Zano said it plans to publish a technical report covering the cause of the exploit and a review of related code. No date has been set for bringing Gateway Addresses back online.
The feature will remain offline until the team completes its review.
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