🚨 Ever Heard of a "Replay Attack"? I Became a Victim! 🚨 $BCH
After a decade, I finally recalled the password to my Bitcoin wallet—a moment of celebration! 🎉 Since I had held BTC for so long, I also accumulated its forked versions, including Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and eCash (XEC). Eager to consolidate everything into a multi-platform wallet, I began transferring funds. As part of this process, I moved my XEC from Electrum ABC to Binance. Everything seemed to go smoothly… until 10 minutes later, when I checked my Electron Cash wallet—to my shock, my BCH balance had vanished! 😱💸 Understanding the Replay Attack 🛡️ This was a classic replay attack, a security risk that can arise after a blockchain fork. Here’s how it works: 1️⃣ Shared History: When a blockchain undergoes a hard fork (such as Bitcoin splitting into Bitcoin Cash), both chains share the same transaction history up to the moment of the split. 📜 2️⃣ Transaction Vulnerability: If replay protection is not properly implemented, transactions on one chain can be replicated on the other. 🔁 $XEC
3️⃣ The Issue in My Case: When I sent XEC, the exact same transaction—same amount, same fee, same transaction hash—was broadcasted on the BCH network. As a result, my BCH was unintentionally sent to an address I didn’t control. 😓 Possibly, it was linked to the same private key as my XEC address. Lessons Learned & Security Precautions 🔐
🔹 Key Takeaway: If you’re handling assets from a forked blockchain, always check for replay protection before initiating transactions. Splitting your coins on different chains can prevent this issue and safeguard your holdings.