Bitcoin Gold 51% attack highlights the weaknesses of proof-of-work

Published on by Cryptoslate | Published on

The 51 percent attack Bitcoin Gold experienced last week sparked an industry-wide debate about the security of the network.

Bitcoin's lest famous hard fork, Bitcoin Gold, underwent a 51 percent attack last week which resulted in more than 7,000 BTG tokens being double-spent.

As always, a 51 percent attack leaves much of the crypto industry divided.

With most being busy arguing about whether or not coins such as Bitcoin Gold should even exist, very few seem to focus on the underlying problem-proof-of-work.

Feathercoin, Vertcoin, Bitcoin Gold, Ethereum Classic, and Verge have all suffered 51% attacks in the past few years.

Many point out it's just a matter of time before larger coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum fall victim to a similar attack, which could have detrimental consequences to the crypto market as a whole.

According to lawyer Josh Lawler, there is no legal definition of a 51 percent attack.

Bitcoin mining centralization has been one of the most debated problems in crypto, but the fact that a 51 percent attack on the world's largest cryptocurrency would cost a staggering $1.4 billion seems to have put much of the industry at ease.

Lawler estimated that a 51 percent attack on Bitcoin Cash would cost $72,000 while taking over the Lightning network would come up to $64,000.

An attack on Dash and Ethereum Classic could cost as low as $15,000.

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