Expert of Braiins Pool (formerly Slush Pool), oldest Bitcoin (BTC) mining pool, shared details of hypothetical scenario of 51% attack on largest blockchain
Bitcoin (BTC), the largest blockchain by capitalization and hash rate, is often referred to as the most secure decentralized system. That is why it is almost impossible to attack 51% on it.
$752,000 per hour for 51% attack: Is it worth it?
Anonymous mining expert and marketing officer of Braiins Pool who goes by @BTCGandalf on Twitter has shared his calculations of the cost of a 51% attack on Bitcoin (BTC).
According to him, theoretically, such an attack would require $752,000 in funds. However, a single entity would not be able to control such a portion of the hash rate, he said.
This pricing model is based on the estimations of the SHA256 hashrate cost provided by the NiceHash platform. However, in real world, should this attack be initiated, hashrate metrics would spike, making it even more expensive.
In addition to expensive hardware, a hypothetical 51% attack on the Bitcoin (BTC) network would also require an enormous amount of power supply.
80% of Bitcoin (BTC) hashrate is controlled by five pools
As covered by U.Today previously, in 2014, GHash.io, one of the oldest Bitcoin (BTC) mining pools, was dangerously close to 51% attacking Bitcoin: it controlled over 42% of its hashrate.
Such supremacy seems almost impossible in 2022. However, some commentators for @BTCGandalf’s calculations raised concerns about the increasing centralization of Bitcoin (BTC) mining.
As per data provided by BTC.com, Foundry USA, F2Pool, Antpool, Binance Pool and ViaBTC are responsible for over 80% of Bitcoin (BTC) network hashrate.
