Monero Remains 36 Hours Secure Following Qubic Selfish Mining Attacks
Monero has remained free from selfish mining attacks for 36 hours following a disruption caused by the Qubic pool. Selfish mining involves delaying the broadcast of mined blocks, leading to chain reorganizations that invalidate other miners' rewards.
On August 12, Qubic Pool executed a six-block chain reorganization from block height 3,475,995 to 3,476,000, affecting Monero's blockchain and prompting exchanges to halt deposits and withdrawals. During this attack, 60 orphan blocks were recorded over 24 hours.
Currently, at block height 3,477,070, there are no orphaned blocks in the last 720 blocks. Monero has confirmed 1,070 blocks since the reorg without further incidents.
- The event was inaccurately labeled a 51% attack, which requires controlling over 51% of the network's hashrate. Evidence indicates this was not the case.
- Luke Parker, a Monero developer, noted the reorg could occur with less than 51% of the hashrate but required a significant amount nonetheless.
- Qubic reported mining 251 out of 699 blocks during the attack, representing approximately 35.91% of the network's hashrate.
- The self-reported hashrate might be unreliable and tampered with, complicating accurate assessments.
- A true 51% attack could enable repeated selfish mining strategies, increasing potential damage and profit for the attacker.
- With over 33% of the hashrate, a profitable selfish mining strategy remains a concern for the Monero ecosystem.
- Experts advise services and users to wait for at least 10 block confirmations before considering transactions secure.
For further updates on Monero, refer to this link.