Late on Saturday evening, major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase detected an attack on the Etheruem Classic blockchain. Coinbase’s subsequent investigation showed that the network had fallen victim to a so-called 51% attack, in which the attackers stole 219,500 ETC – roughly the equivalent of $1.1m. In response, Coinbase froze transactions on the ETC blockchain. But the Ethereum Classic attack raises serious questions about the security of blockchain and its supposedly permanent ledger of transactions. How damaging is the attack for blockchain’s reputation, and should other cryptocurrencies running on other blockchains be worried? How did the Ethereum Classic attack happen? First, it is worth exploring how the attack could have been carried out. As the name suggests, a 51% attack – or rollback attack – requires at least 51% control of the miners on the network. In short, a hacker will need more computer power, or hashrate, than the rest of the network combined. This means, ...
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