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Monero’s 51% Attack Problem: Inside Qubic’s Controversial Network Takeover

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Monero, the leading privacy-focused cryptocurrency, is facing one of the most serious security challenges in its history.

Qubic, a project led by IOTA co-founder Sergey Ivancheglo, says it now controls more than 51% of the network’s hashrate. In blockchains secured by proof-of-work algorithms, that’s the same method used by Bitcoin, that level of control can allow an attacker to rewrite transaction history, block transactions or carry out double-spend attacks.

In a blog post, Quibic described the takeover as an «experiment» that was a «strategic, and at times combative, application of game theory.»

Developers, miners and security experts are now debating whether the network’s decentralization is as robust as many believed.

What is a 51% attack?

In a proof-of-work blockchain, miners compete to add new blocks of transactions to the chain. If one group controls more than half of the total computing power, they can outpace every other participant.

That level of control opens the door to a range of capabilities that can undermine confidence in the network. These include chain reorganizations, commonly abbreviated to «reorg,» which involves replacing previously confirmed blocks with new ones. It also covers double spends, meaning sending the same token twice,

Arguably the most impactful part of a 51% attack is censoring transactions —preventing some payments from being confirmed — which is particularly pertinent in the case of Monero given its focus on privacy

These attacks are not theoretical. Ethereum Classic was hit several times in 2020, costing millions. Bitcoin Gold faced similar incidents in 2018 and 2020. Smaller tokens like Verge have been targeted and destabilized.

Why Monero is still at risk

Monero uses the RandomX algorithm to discourage mining using application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), encouraging CPU mining instead. This design was meant to keep the network decentralized. That is why Qubic’s rapid rise is so significant. From less than 2% of Monero’s hashrate in May, it grew to more than 25% by late July, and now claims to have crossed the 51% threshold.

Qubic runs a “useful proof-of-work” system that turns Monero mining rewards into USDT, then uses those funds to buy and burn its own QUBIC tokens. The mechanism is unusual, combining a mining strategy with a token supply sink. And it has steadily increased Qubic’s control over Monero’s hashpower.

Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet said that «sustaining this attack is estimated to cost $75 million per day,» before adding that while it is potentially lucrative, «it threatens to destroy confidence in the network almost overnight. Other miners are left with no incentive to continue.»

BitMEX research added: «Qubic say the end goal is to takeover all the block rewards of Monero, which essentially means full and sustained selfish mining. It is not clear whether they can actually achieve that. If this can be achieved, the value of the coin may fall.»

It did. Monero’s XMR is currently trading at $252, down 6% over the past 24 hours to compound a 13.5% decline over the past seven days.

What does this mean for Monero?

In the blog post, Qubic said the takeover was not about breaking Monero, but about proving that economic incentives and a coordinated mining strategy can give a smaller protocol effective control over a much larger one.

The experiment, Qubic says, was to test whether mining resources could be profitably diverted from a target network into another protocol’s economic loop.

At its peak, Qubic claims its Monero mining was nearly three times more lucrative than traditional Monero mining. A restructuring of its reward system, approved by its community, boosted payouts to its validators and drew miners away from other Monero pools.

Qubic’s first push for majority control was met with sustained distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks that disrupted peripheral services for over a week but failed to take down its core network.

Those DDOS attacks continued on Tuesday, Ivancheglo revealed on X, in what he decribes as «Monero Maxis returning the favor.»

Qubic claims it has so far stopped short of fully taking over consensus, citing concerns about the potential impact on XMR’s price.

Are other blockchains vulnerable to attack?

Bitcoin’s hashrate is so high that a 51% attack would be prohibitively expensive. But mid-tier proof-of-work coins are more vulnerable. The cost of gaining majority hashpower on Monero, Ethereum Classic or Bitcoin Gold is far lower.

Privacy-focused coins face an added challenge. Their censorship-resistant nature means that if one party controls the network, it undermines the very privacy they are designed to protect.

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Strategy Bought $27M in Bitcoin at $123K Before Crypto Crash

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Strategy (MSTR), the world’s largest corporate owner of bitcoin (BTC), appeared to miss out on capitalizing on last week’s market rout to purchase the dip in prices.

According to Monday’s press release, the firm bought 220 BTC at an average price of $123,561. The company used the proceeds of selling its various preferred stocks (STRF, STRK, STRD), raising $27.3 million.

That purchase price was well above the prices the largest crypto changed hands in the second half of the week. Bitcoin nosedived from above $123,000 on Thursday to as low as $103,000 on late Friday during one, if not the worst crypto flash crash on record, liquidating over $19 billion in leveraged positions.

That move occurred as Trump said to impose a 100% increase in tariffs against Chinese goods as a retaliation for tightening rare earth metal exports, reigniting fears of a trade war between the two world powers.

At its lowest point on Friday, BTC traded nearly 16% lower than the average of Strategy’s recent purchase price. Even during the swift rebound over the weekend, the firm could have bought tokens between $110,000 and $115,000, at a 7%-10% discount compared to what it paid for.

With the latest purchase, the firm brought its total holdings to 640,250 BTC, at an average acquisition price of $73,000 since starting its bitcoin treasury plan in 2020.

MSTR, the firm’s common stock, was up 2.5% on Monday.

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HBAR Rises Past Key Resistance After Explosive Decline

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HBAR (Hedera Hashgraph) experienced pronounced volatility in the final hour of trading on Oct. 13, soaring from $0.187 to a peak of $0.191—a 2.14% intraday gain—before consolidating around $0.190.

The move was driven by a dramatic surge in trading activity, with a standout 15.65 million tokens exchanged at 13:31, signaling strong institutional participation. This decisive volume breakout propelled the asset beyond its prior resistance range of $0.190–$0.191, establishing a new technical footing amid bullish momentum.

The surge capped a broader 23-hour rally from Oct. 12 to 13, during which HBAR advanced roughly 9% within a $0.17–$0.19 bandwidth. This sustained upward trajectory was characterized by consistent volume inflows and a firm recovery from earlier lows near $0.17, underscoring robust market conviction. The asset’s ability to preserve support above $0.18 throughout the period reinforced confidence among traders eyeing continued bullish action.

Strong institutional engagement was evident as consecutive high-volume intervals extended through the breakout window, suggesting renewed accumulation and positioning for potential continuation. HBAR’s price structure now shows resilient support around $0.189–$0.190, signaling the possibility of further upside if momentum persists and broader market conditions remain favorable.

HBAR/USD (TradingView)

Technical Indicators Highlight Bullish Sentiment
  • HBAR operated within a $0.017 bandwidth (9%) spanning $0.174 and $0.191 throughout the previous 23-hour period from 12 October 15:00 to 13 October 14:00.
  • Substantial volume surges reaching 179.54 million and 182.77 million during 11:00 and 13:00 sessions on 13 October validated positive market sentiment.
  • Critical resistance materialized at $0.190-$0.191 thresholds where price movements encountered persistent selling activity.
  • The $0.183-$0.184 territory established dependable support through volume-supported bounces.
  • Extraordinary volume explosion at 13:31 registering 15.65 million units signaled decisive breakout event.
  • High-volume intervals surpassing 10 million units through 13:35 substantiated significant institutional engagement.
  • Asset preserved support above $0.189 despite moderate profit-taking activity.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.

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Crypto Markets Today: Bitcoin and Altcoins Recover After $500B Crash

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The crypto market staged a recovery on Monday following the weekend’s $500 billion bloodbath that resulted in a $10 billion drop in open interest.

Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 1.4% while ether (ETH) outperformed with a 2.5% gain. Synthetix (SNX, meanwhile, stole the show with a 120% rally as traders anticipate «perpetual wars» between the decentralized trading venue and HyperLiquid.

Plasma (XPL) and aster (ASTER) both failed to benefit from Monday’s recovery, losing 4.2% and 2.5% respectively.

Derivatives Positioning

  • The BTC futures market has stabilized after a volatile period. Open interest, which had dropped from $33 billion to $23 billion over the weekend, has now settled at around $26 billion. Similarly, the 3-month annualized basis has rebounded to the 6-7% range, after dipping to 4-5% over the weekend, indicating that the bullish sentiment has largely returned. However, funding rates remain a key area of divergence; while Bybit and Hyperliquid have settled around 10%, Binance’s rate is negative.
  • The BTC options market is showing a renewed bullish lean. The 24-hour Put/Call Volume has shifted to be more in favor of calls, now at over 56%. Additionally, the 1-week 25 Delta Skew has risen to 2.5% after a period of flatness.
  • These metrics indicate a market with increasing demand for bullish exposure and upside protection, reflecting a shift away from the recent «cautious neutrality.»
  • Coinglass data shows $620 million in 24 hour liquidations, with a 34-66 split between longs and shorts. ETH ($218 million), BTC ($124 million) and SOL ($43 million) were the leaders in terms of notional liquidations. Binance liquidation heatmap indicates $116,620 as a core liquidation level to monitor, in case of a price rise.

Token Talk

By Oliver Knight

  • The crypto market kicked off Monday with a rebound in the wake of a sharp weekend leverage flush. According to data from CoinMarketCap, the total crypto market cap climbed roughly 5.7% in the past 24 hours, with volume jumping about 26.8%, suggesting those liquidated at the weekend are repurchasing their positions.
  • A total of $19 billion worth of derivatives positions were wiped out over the weekend with the vast majority being attributed to those holding long positions, in the past 24 hours, however, $626 billion was liquidated with $420 billion of that being on the short side, demonstrating a reversal in sentiment, according to CoinGlass.
  • The recovery has been tentative so far; the dominance of Bitcoin remains elevated at about 58.45%, down modestly from recent highs, which implies altcoins may still lag as capital piles back into safer large-cap names.
  • The big winner of Monday’s recovery was synthetix (SNX), which rose by more than 120% ahead of a crypto trading competition that will see it potentially start up «perpetual wars» with HyperLiquid.
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