Qubic prepares 51% attack on Monero blockchain

Blockchain project Qubic, founded by IOTA co-founder Sergey Ivancheglo, announced its intention to seize control of 51% of the Monero hashrate in August. According to the developer, this is an “economic experiment,” but experts warn that the threat of centralization puts the security of the network at risk.

Qubic uses a useful Proof-of-Work (uPoW) model in which mined XMR is converted into USDT to redeem and burn QUBIC tokens. Since May, the project’s share of the Monero hashright has grown from 2% to 27%, making it the largest pool on the network, but it dropped to fourth place at the end of July, according to MiningPoolStats data.

Ivancheglo claims the project has no malicious intent and aims to demonstrate the vulnerabilities of PoW networks. “I, like the rest of the Monero community, am simply looking for ways to counter Qubic’s 51% dominance,” he wrote, noting that stopping the publication of hashright data after Aug. 2 will bring attention to the issue.

Unstoppable Wallet analyst Dan Dadibayo explained that by controlling more than half of the hashrate, the pool will be able to reject competitors’ blocks, delay transaction confirmations and impose protocol changes. “Intentions don’t matter. Centralization is a risk, and economic incentives are a new vector of attacks,” the expert stressed.

In response, the Monero community has stepped up support for the supportxmr.com pool, which has reached a 33.5% share. Participants also discuss the need to expand hashrate decentralization to prevent the threat.

Amid the news, the price of Monero has dropped 1.1% overnight and is trading at $323 at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko.