Monero Faces 51% Attack as Qubic Mining Pool Hits 53% Hashrate

Monero (XMR) is currently under a 51% attack following reports that the Qubic mining pool has gained control of a majority of the network’s hashrate. According to Qubic’s head and IOTA co-founder Sergey Ivancheglo, the initiative is part of an “economic demonstration” and not a malicious attempt to harm the network. At one point, Qubic’s hashrate share was reported to have reached as high as 52.36%, while some online sources suggest the figure may have exceeded 53%, reaching 2.65 GH/s [1].

This has raised significant concerns across the cryptocurrency community, with experts noting the potential for block reorganizations, transaction censorship, and double-spending. A Qubic core developer, attributed as dkat, stated that the team had opportunities to reorganize up to 10 blocks but emphasized that they had no intention of causing a network failure [1]. Meanwhile, some users remain skeptical about the true extent of the attack, pointing out that if it had been fully successful, other miners would not have been able to process any blocks [1].

The price of XMR fell approximately 8% following the attack, while QUBIC’s token price increased by 4% over the same period [1]. Analysts have highlighted the high costs associated with maintaining such an attack, with Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet estimating the daily expense at around $75 million [1]. Despite these costs, Guillemet warned that a complete takeover of Monero is a likely outcome if the current trend continues.

The attack has reignited debates over the decentralization and security of privacy-focused blockchains. Monero, designed to offer strong transactional privacy, now faces challenges related to mining centralization. The incident has also sparked discussions on potential protocol upgrades and changes to mining economics to mitigate future 51% attacks [1].

Data from MiningPoolStats shows that the two largest mining pools, including Qubic, processed 44 of the last 100 Monero blocks, further highlighting the concentration of mining power [1]. The economic model employed by Qubic involves rewarding miners with QUBIC tokens, which are then used to purchase stablecoins and, subsequently, more QUBIC tokens. This creates a feedback loop that supports the mining pool’s growing hashrate dominance.

The broader cryptocurrency community is now closely watching how Monero’s developers respond to the situation. While no formal statement has been released, the attack has already prompted questions about the network’s resilience and governance structure. If not addressed, the incident could deter institutional adoption and erode long-term user confidence in the Monero network [1].

Source: [1] Monero Under 51% Attack as Qubic Pool Gains Majority Hashrate (https://coinpaper.com/10475/monero-under-51-attack-as-qubic-pool-gains-majority-hashrate)