A few days ago, the Qubic community declared majority control of the Monero network, and subsequently voted to make Dogecoin its next target.
- Qubic took over Monero's network and reorganized six blocks.
- Its community voted to make Dogecoin the next proof-of-work target.
- A 51% attack could increase the security and risks to Dogecoin users.
Project founder Sergey Ivancheglo shared this update after successfully attacking Monero on August 17th.
Last week it was announced that its mining pool had launched a 51% attack on Monero.
The group reorganized six blocks, effectively proving they could rewrite blockchain history. Shortly thereafter, Ivancheglo challenged the Qubic community to select another ASIC-friendly proof-of-work network for their next attack. While Monero continued to operate, the move forced the Kraken exchange to suspend deposits and sparked concerns about further damage.
Dogecoin, which has a market capitalization of over $35 billion and is now facing the possibility of a similar attack, was selected in a public vote, beating out Zcash, receiving over 300 votes, more than all other options combined.
What the Dogecoin attack might mean
A 51% attack allows the controlling party to reorganize blocks, halt certain transactions, or attempt double spends. Qubic currently operates a mining pool with approximately 2.3 GH/s of Monero hashrate, enough to control the network. Applying the same hashrate to Dogecoin could be a significant risk.
Qubic described its actions as a "stress test" designed to demonstrate the strength of its mining model, known as "practical proof-of-work." Mining pool profits were used to purchase and burn QUBIC tokens. The project stated it had no intention of undermining Monero or Dogecoin, but the experiments raised new questions about the security of proof-of-work systems in the face of mining centralization.
A timeline for action against Dogecoin has not yet been announced, but the announcement has already raised concerns about the currency’s security and how its developers might respond.
