Analysts at Coin Metrics calculated, how much the so-called 51% attack on the Bitcoin and Ethereum network will cost potential attackers. According to the analysis, we are talking about tens of billions of dollars.
A 51% attack is a criminal raid on a blockchain in which hackers gain control of more than half (51%) of the stakes or hashing power. This makes it possible to rewrite transaction history or prevent their completion, block validator rewards and receive double payment for tokens.
Experts have calculated that in the event of an attack on the Bitcoin network, attackers will need to obtain a hashrate that can be provided by 7 million ASICs. The purchase of this amount of equipment will cost them $20 billion, analysts say.
The report states that the market as a whole does not have that many mining rigs. Even in the case of underground production of analogues of Bitmain AntMiner S9, the organizers will need a lot of time and an amount exceeding the mentioned $20 billion, experts said.
As for the Ethereum network, a raid on it will cost even more. The report states that concerns about a theoretical attack on 34% of staked assets by validators are misplaced.
Analysts say such an operation would require too much time and money.
At the same time, the cost of carrying out the attack will cost more than $34 billion, the document says. In addition, attackers will have to simultaneously manage 200 nodes, which greatly complicates the coordination of actions, company representatives emphasized.
Analysts have concluded that with the current capitalization of assets and potential operating costs, even entire states cannot carry out such attacks.
Source: Cryptocurrency
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