Five companies out of China control nearly half of Bitcoin’s computing power, according to a new report released Friday by blockchain analysis firm TokenAnalysis. As a result, Bitcoin’s “trustless network” continues to erode as mining power concentrates into the hands of a few.
When a 51% attack happens, a bunch of 0s and 1s don't suddenly shout "51% ATTACK" in red (via Shutterstock).Ethereum Classic hack nets thieves $1.1 million
The 51% attack saw control of the cryptocurrency’s blockchain taken over by bad actors
Ethereum Classic, the cryptocurrency created after the main Ethereum developers led by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin split off in a June 2016 hard fork to reverse the theft of $55 million in coins, suffered another loss this week. On Jan. 5, a miner or group of miners managed to gain control of more than half of the Ethereum Classic mining power, or hashrate, in what is called a “51% attack.” This gave them the ability to double spend ETC coins—basically spending a newly created coin and then forking the ETC blockchain, allowing them to cancel the transaction and be able to spend that coin again. Called a deep chain reorganization,…