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- The Qubic mining pool has gained majority control of the Monero network, allowing it to rewrite transactions and enable double-spending.
- Monero’s value dropped 13% amid fears of the $300 million Qubic chain takeover.
The Monero 51% attack fears have grown after Charles Guillemet, Chief Technology Officer at Ledger, said the privacy-focused cryptocurrency is under a serious network takeover. In a post online, Guillemet explained that the attack is already in motion and warned that it could damage trust in the blockchain.
Qubic Pool Takes Control of Monero Network
Guillemet said the Qubic mining pool has been building its share of Monero’s mining power for several months.
This growth has now given Qubic more than half of the network’s hashrate. Having the majority means Qubic can change how the blockchain records transactions, block payments, or spend the same coins twice.
He added that earlier in the day, he saw a major reorganization of the chain, which is a strong sign that the takeover has started. This puts the network in a vulnerable state where a single group can decide which transactions go through.
Monero, launched in 2014, is known for hiding transaction details to protect user privacy. It has been banned from most large centralized exchanges because of those privacy features. This attack adds another challenge, as miners may lose confidence and stop supporting the network.
Meanwhile, Guillemet said keeping such control over the network could cost about $75 million every day, but the effect could still drive other miners away. Notably, in related news, CNF noted that the operator of a €250 million Monero-based darknet drug market was arrested in Barcelona after a five-year run.
Smaller Blockchain Challenges a Larger One
It is worth mentioning that Qubic is a separate blockchain ranked 222nd on CoinMarketCap, with a market value of just under $300 million. Monero, by contrast, is in the top 30 cryptocurrencies and valued at around $6 billion. Despite the gap in size, Qubic now has the upper hand in mining power.
Guillemet described the situation as a “$300 million chain taking over a $6 billion one.” He said that if miners stop working on Monero, Qubic could end up as the only group producing blocks. That would give it complete control over the network with very few recovery options available.
Following news of the Monero 51% attack, XMR’s price dropped 13% and as of writing, it is trading at $247.43.
Likewise, the event also shows how quickly mining power can shift and how even well-established proof-of-work networks can be put at risk when too much control is in the hands of one group.
Meanwhile, as highlighted in our previous news brief, Monero launched its Cuprate node update earlier in February. This slashed sync time to 20 hours, boosting network security and decentralization.
