In a frozen 50-block sample, the transparent HogAddr value moved from 426,659.32508909 to 426,651.47407924 LTC: a net decrease of 7.85100985 LTC. Thirteen blocks contained MWEB kernel records, with 16 kernel records across the window.
Neither result establishes how many people paid through MWEB, what they paid, or whether adoption is rising. The balance is a stock; private transfers are a flow. This report publishes the difference and the underlying records instead of filling those gaps with a growth story.
Correction, 2 October 2026: the previous edition presented long-term usage and holder behaviour without a preserved series. This replacement reports only what our node captured at heights 3,188,200–3,188,249.
Four measurable fields, four different meanings
| Field | Result | What it describes |
|---|---|---|
| First HogAddr output value | 426,659.32508909 LTC | Value carried at the first sampled block |
| Last HogAddr output value | 426,651.47407924 LTC | Value carried at the last sampled block |
| Endpoint difference | −7.85100985 LTC | Net difference, not gross transfer volume |
| Kernel records | 16 in 13 of 50 blocks | Protocol records, not verified customer payments |
Do not sum every HogEx output as the reserve
Our calculation selects the output with type witness_mweb_hogaddr. It does not sum every output in that transaction. The pinned validation code separates the first HogAddr output from subsequent peg-out outputs.
For example, at height 3,188,209 the HogAddr output was 426,657.68372612 LTC. Five other outputs added 5 LTC, making the transaction’s transparent output total 426,662.68372612 LTC. Both numbers are observable; substituting one for the other changes the quantity being measured.
That distinction also affects rankings. In our large-output study, all ten largest naive totals belonged to HogEx rows. A public explorer can display a perfectly real output sum while a headline gives it the wrong economic meaning.
Why a flat balance does not mean inactivity
Consider a purely illustrative reserve of 1,000 LTC. If one participant pays another 10 LTC entirely inside the extension block, a reserve-only chart need not increase by 10 LTC. If another participant enters with 5 LTC while somebody leaves with 5 LTC, the endpoints can also match even though the boundary has activity.
These examples explain the measurement, not what occurred in our sample. Hidden transfer amounts and participant identities cannot be reconstructed from the public reserve series. We therefore publish no “average MWEB payment”, no active-user count and no dormant-versus-active ownership split.
What the kernel count adds
The capture retains the node’s kernel count alongside its MWEB input and output counts for each block. Kernel records provide evidence that the extension block is not described solely by its carried balance. They still require care: records can be related to different transaction constructions and aggregation, and the count is not a survey of distinct people.
There were 37 sampled blocks with no kernel records and 13 with at least one. The sample covers 50 consecutive blocks whose endpoint header timestamps differ by 5,327 seconds. Header timestamps do not supply an independent wall-clock stopwatch or a representative daily usage rate.
Security history remains relevant
The developer 2026 MWEB incident postmortem describes the March validation exploit and the April disruption and reorganization. A reserve observation is not a security audit and cannot show that all historical validation problems are impossible to repeat. Follow official releases and assess a wallet’s actual MWEB support before using it.
Sending to an unsupported receiving service is a separate compatibility risk. Check the destination’s current deposit instructions. A chart of MWEB value cannot validate the service, a bridge, or a promise of anonymity.
How a longer study would improve this result
A useful extension would sample a fixed interval for several weeks, record collection gaps and preserve both stock changes and kernel counts. It should compare equivalent periods and publish software versions. A rising stock would still not identify payment volume; a falling stock would still not prove a decline in users.
For now, the downloadable series supports a precise 50-block statement. The network research archive provides other public observations; the private MWEB amounts are outside its scope.
Check the result yourself
The versioned package keeps its capture boundary. It will not silently become a live quote. Download the files into one folder and run python analyze.py.txt .. The script validates input hashes before calculating the published results. A successful rerun checks the arithmetic on this export; it does not independently validate our node or prove that the sample represents the whole network.
- mweb-window.csv
- recent-blocks.json
- recent-transactions.json
- capture.json
- analyze.py.txt
- results.json
- README.txt
- SHA256SUMS.txt
Sources and review scope
Reviewed against the linked materials on 2 October 2026. Calculations and drafting were AI-assisted; no independent external review or personal attendance is claimed. Original publication date retained. See our corrections policy.
