News Article:
Cryptocurrency intelligence company Coin Metrics has conducted research indicating that Bitcoin and Ethereum are essentially immune to potential 51% and 34% attacks due to the high cost and low profitability.
The research report, released by Coin Metrics on February 15th, highlights that due to the enormous cost of attacks, attackers would have little to gain even if they were successful. Currently, it is highly unlikely that the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks would be vulnerable to 51% and 34% attacks at the consensus level.
How much does it cost to attack Bitcoin and Ethereum?
In this report, the analyst team led by Lucas Nuzzi, Director of Research at Coin Metrics, introduces a new indicator called “Total Cost of Attack (TCA)” to accurately quantify the cost associated with such attacks. They have concluded:
Bitcoin 51% attack costs exceed $20 billion
We know that a 51% attack is a potential attack method against blockchain networks based on Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanisms. If a single entity or organization controls over 51% of the computational power, they can make changes to the entire network, such as modifying transaction sequences, preventing transaction verifications, and launching double spend attacks, thereby compromising the security of the network.
However, according to Coin Metrics’ report, based on current market data and computational power, launching a double spend attack on Bitcoin would require the purchase of approximately 7 million mining machines, with a staggering cost exceeding $20 billion. Furthermore, there is currently not enough equipment available in the market to meet such demand, even if certain entities (such as a country) could produce mining machines on their own, the production cost alone would exceed $20 billion.
Bitcoin 51% attack total cost
Ethereum 34% attack costs exceed $34 billion
Similarly, a 34% attack is a means of attacking blockchains like Ethereum that are based on Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanisms. Attackers only need to possess more than 34% of the total staked tokens in the network to control its operation.
However, the Coin Metrics report points out that launching a 34% attack on Ethereum is also unrealistic, as it is not only extremely costly but also highly time-consuming.
Ethereum 34% attack total cost
In conclusion, the research team at Coin Metrics concludes that the high cost and low profitability of attacking Bitcoin and Ethereum make such attacks practically infeasible.
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