Qubic seizes 51% Computing Power! Monero security is in crisis XMR big dump 9%

On August 12, the privacy coin leader Monero (XMR) faced an unprecedented security crisis - the Qubic project claimed to have mastered over 51% of the network computing power, triggering the typical "51% attack" risk. Following the news, the XMR price plummeted nearly 9% in a single day, and the encryption community's concerns about double spending, transaction review, and chain reorganization intensified.

Qubic Computing Power Surpasses Threshold to Control Monero Network

(Source: X)

Renowned developer Sergey Ivancheglo (CFB) in the X platform stated that the Computing Power of Qubic has surpassed 51% of the total hash rate of the Monero network, and is awaiting independent verification.

Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet subsequently confirmed this situation, pointing out that Qubic has mastered most of the computing power, and other miners lack the motivation to continue mining, as Qubic can easily isolate competing blocks, effectively becoming the sole miner.

He warned that this dominance could lead to large-scale blockchain reorganization, Double Spending attacks, and transaction censorship.

Costs up to 75 million dollars per day yet still has profit potential

Guillemet estimates that maintaining this computing power advantage costs about 75 million dollars per day, but it may still be profitable in the short term.

He described this as "a link worth 300 million dollars managing a chain worth 6 billion dollars," and pointed out that Monero's options for recovery are limited, with a very high possibility of complete acquisition.

Qubic's "Payment Conversion" Strategy

Qubic adopts an incentive-driven "pay-for-conversion" mining model, offering miners returns far higher than traditional Monero mining pools.

Chaos Labs data shows that the Monero network hash rate has soared to 3.01 GH/s, with the Qubic mining pool providing daily rewards of up to 3.13 dollars, while the standard mining pool only offers 0.64 dollars.

In the past 30 days, the price of XMR has dropped by 28%, while the QUBIC token has risen by 57%.

Double Incentive Mechanism and Token Burn

The Qubic model distributes half of the mining profits to miners, while the other half is used to buy back and destroy QUBIC tokens.

If Monero mining is completely monopolized, about 432 coins of XMR (valued at approximately 118,000 USD) can be produced daily, and about 59,000 USD worth of QUBIC tokens will be destroyed.

This structure not only enhances the value of QUBIC but also exerts continuous pressure on the Monero network.

Disputes and Defensive Measures

CFB stated that this action is to help Monero test and improve its 51% attack protection mechanism, denying any malicious intent and rebutting the allegations of "institutionally funded attacks."

However, due to the privacy features of Monero, the ownership of computing power is difficult to be fully transparent, and some hidden computing power may not have been accounted for, leading to doubts about whether Qubic has truly reached 51%.

Conclusion

The 51% attack incident on Monero by Qubic reveals that even cryptocurrencies known for privacy and decentralization may expose vulnerabilities in the face of computing power centralization. With XMR prices plummeting and network security being questioned, how the Monero team responds to this crisis will become the focus of the market in the coming weeks. For more on-chain security and market tracking, please follow the official Gate platform.