Ravencoin hit a serious snag on Friday when the network produced its first invalid block, a flaw that has now pushed two of its largest mining pools to roll back the chain. The move puts any deposits, withdrawals, or payments made since that block in danger of being reversed.
A critical flaw surfaces
The invalid block appeared Friday, marking the first time in Ravencoin's history that the network accepted a block that turned out to be bad. The flaw behind it is described as critical, though the exact technical details haven't been made public. What's clear is that the block broke the chain's normal rules, and that's never happened before on this network.
Ravencoin is a proof-of-work blockchain that lets users issue and transfer tokens. It's not a huge network, but it has a dedicated following. Friday's invalid block shook that community, because a chain that can't keep its own blocks valid is a chain that can't be trusted.
The rollback plan
Two mining pools that together control most of Ravencoin's hashpower have decided to build a replacement chain. They're starting from a point before Friday's invalid block, effectively wiping out everything that came after it. That's a big deal. It means the network is going to reorg itself, and the version of history that most miners agree on will be the one that pretends that invalid block never existed.
The pools haven't said exactly when the replacement chain will be ready, but they're clearly coordinating. With that much hashpower behind them, the reorg is likely to succeed. The question is what happens to the transactions that were confirmed on the old chain after that block.
What's at risk
Any deposit, withdrawal, or payment made on Ravencoin since Friday's first invalid block is at risk of reversal. That's not a maybe. If the replacement chain becomes the accepted one, those transactions won't be in it. They'll be gone, as if they never happened.
For users, that means funds sent to an exchange might not arrive. Payments made to a vendor could be undone. Anyone who moved Ravencoin after that block should treat those transfers as provisional until the reorg is complete. The pools' replacement chain will decide the outcome, and there's no guarantee that every transaction from the old chain will be replayed.
The situation is fluid. The pools are building the new chain now, and until they finish, nobody knows exactly which transactions will survive. What's certain is that Friday's invalid block set off a chain reaction that's still unfolding.
