Zano Restarts Blockchain After Security Flaw Exposes Token Vulnerability

How the Gateway Address Flaw Enabled Unauthorized Token Creation

On September 28, 2026, Zano developers initiated a blockchain restart at block 3,833,000 following the discovery of a critical vulnerability in the Gateway Address system. The flaw allowed unauthorized creation and circulation of ZANO and Freedom Dollar tokens, compromising network integrity. As a result, approximately one month of transaction history was invalidated to restore security and trust in the platform.

The vulnerability stemmed from a design oversight in how gateway addresses were validated, enabling malicious actors to mint tokens without proper authorization. This unauthorized influx threatened the economic stability of Zano’s dual-token ecosystem, which combines privacy-focused ZANO with the stablecoin Freedom Dollar. Developers confirmed the exploit was isolated to the gateway mechanism and did not affect core cryptographic protocols or user wallets directly. The rollback to block 3,833,000 was chosen as the last known secure state before the anomaly began spreading across the network.

What Measures Are Being Taken to Prevent Future Exploits?

The Gateway Address feature was designed to facilitate cross-chain interactions but lacked sufficient input validation for token issuance requests. Attackers exploited this gap by crafting spoofed gateway transactions that mimicked legitimate cross-chain transfers. These fraudulent entries bypassed consensus checks, allowing the creation of ZANO and Freedom Dollar tokens outside the protocol’s emission schedule. Network validators initially accepted these transactions as valid, delaying detection until abnormal token supply metrics raised alarms. Forensic analysis revealed the exploit began approximately 30 days prior to the restart, affecting thousands of transactions.

In response to the incident, Zano’s development team has implemented enhanced validation rules for gateway transactions, including stricter address formatting checks and amount limits per transaction. A temporary freeze on gateway functionality remains in place while a full audit is conducted by third-party security firms. Community validators have been urged to upgrade to the latest client version, which includes the patch and rollback coordinates. The team emphasized that user funds held in standard addresses were never at risk, as the flaw only impacted gateway-specific operations.

Why was block 3,833,000 chosen for the restart? This block represented the last confirmed state before the gateway exploit began generating unauthorized transactions, ensuring a clean rollback to a secure chain state.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are user funds in regular wallets affected by the restart? No, only transactions involving the gateway address mechanism were reversed; standard ZANO and Freedom Dollar holdings in personal wallets remain intact and unaffected.

Will the Freedom Dollar stablecoin lose its peg due to this incident? The unauthorized tokens were removed from circulation, and the stablecoin’s reserve backing remains intact, so the peg to the US dollar is expected to hold once normal operations resume.