Ethereum Classic 51% Attack Performed by Unknown Actor

- Advertisement -

Ethereum Classic 51% Attack Performed by Unknown Actor

Panic set in for Ethereum Classic holders late last night as a massive 51 percent attack that caused a reorganization of over 100 blocks took place, allowing for a half-hour period of complete uncertainty for users of the cryptocurrency.

Also see: Japan’s FSA Reportedly Honing In On Crypto ETF Decision

Subscribe to the  YouTube channel for great videos featuring industry insiders & experts

Wallet Withdrawals Halted

As exchanges and other services jointly announce holds on their wallet withdrawals pending the fallout of the attack, the Ethereum Classic team released an announcement that the event was apparently a test from an Ethereum ASIC manufacturer based in China:

Others are blaming everyone from Ethereum devs to Coinbase for not warning the ETC team, but there’s been no confirmation as to whether the double spends were sourced from the mining company or not. Coinbase, which began offering support for Ethereum Classic in August, did confirm it was halting withdrawals, and suggested double spends were involved:

Shocking as this attack must have been to the ETC community, it’s a run of the mill outcome for any altcoin that uses the same Proof of Work protocol as a larger cryptocurrency network. If the smaller altcoin becomes profitable to mine or attack based on the total network value, even small pools on the larger one can temporarily direct their hash power to perform a 51 percent attack.

- Advertisement -

The Downside of ASIC Resistance

This is even more significant on “ASIC resistant” coins because GPUs and other general purpose hardware being used for ANY cryptocurrency can be used for the same purpose. Others argue, however, that this potential does not speak to a flaw in Proof of Work itself.

Attacking an Ethereum-style network is even more profitable in some circumstances, because double spend detection is very hard to do without a high end archival node, limiting the number of people that can alert others to an attack to a select few, like Coinbase and ETC block explorers.

Many are speculating as to why Coinbase did not alert the ETC community to the issue, but on a more conservatively designed network, anyone running a full node could have seen the attack taking place.

- Advertisement -

This, along with a rash of 51 percent and time warp attacks on smaller cryptocurrencies late last year has a lot of people talking about alternative Proof of Work solutions like Monero’s RandomJS and Kristy Leigh Minehan (ohgodawolf/wolf0)’s new ProgPow.

Proof of Work changes can be messy and controversial, but for smaller networks it may be the only viable protection from big players in the space with ill intentions.

Have your say. Should smaller coins look to other protocols to protect their networks? Should Coinbase have been more active in alerting the community as to what was going on?


Images via Pixabay



Previous Articles:

- Advertisement -

Latest

Congress Debates Stablecoin Bill Amid Rising Bank and Crypto Tensions

U.S. lawmakers are moving forward with the Senate Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, with debates set to resume after...

American Engineer Drugged, Robbed in Sophisticated London Crypto Heist

An American software engineer lost approximately $123,000 in cryptocurrency after being drugged and robbed in London.The victim was targeted by an impersonator posing as...

Max Keiser Doubts New Bitcoin Treasuries’ Discipline in Bear Market

Bitcoin-focused companies are increasingly copying the treasury strategy used by Michael Saylor's Strategy.Max Keiser raised doubts about whether these newer companies can maintain commitment...

South Korea Election Puts Crypto Policy at Center of Debate

Nearly one-third of South Koreans hold digital assets, making crypto a vital issue in the upcoming presidential election.Both major parties support crypto exchange-traded funds...

Scottsdale Residents Lose $6M to Crypto Scams; Police Respond

Scottsdale residents have reported losing over $6 million to cryptocurrency Scams in 2024.Authorities say actual losses could be higher, as not all cases are...

Must Read

Top 9 VPNs That Accept Bitcoin And Crypto

CyberGhost | FastVPN | TorGuard | Private Internet Access | ExpressVPN | NordVPN | Private VPN | SurfShark | AirVPN | Why Buy VPN...