ONE of Bitcoin’s advantages over fiat currencies is blockchain technology. Blockchain is a digital ledger whose data cannot be changed, thus preventing double spending or using the same Bitcoin more than once.
However, there is a risk known as a 51% attack, which is if one person or group of miners controls more than 50% of the computing power of the Bitcoin network, they can manipulate transactions.
51% attacks have occurred on Ethereum Classic and Bitcoin Cash.
Quoted from Pintu Academy, this attack allows attackers to prevent transaction confirmations, reverse confirmed transactions, create new blockchains, and prohibit other miners from mining new blocks.
However, they cannot create new coins, change old block data, revert transactions that have already occurred, steal funds from a specific wallet, or create fake transactions.
To prevent this attack, Satoshi Nakamoto explained that Bitcoin network transaction fees are an incentive for nodes to stay honest. The more decentralized the Bitcoin network is, the harder it is to pull off a 51% attack.
On a large network like Bitcoin, the probability of a 51% attack is extremely small because an attacker would need an enormous amount of computing power, which would cost billions of dollars and require a huge amount of energy.
In conclusion, a 51% attack on the Bitcoin blockchain is highly unlikely due to the size of the network. However, it is easier to pull off on smaller cryptocurrencies with lower hashing power. (Z-1)
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