Monero, the privacy-focused cryptocurrency, is now in the grip of what experts believe is a successful 51% attack. The incident has sparked alarm across the crypto industry, with fears of severe damage to the network’s credibility.
According to SlowMist Founder Yu Xian, the Qubic mining pool now controls most of Monero’s hashrate, enabling it to rewrite blockchain history, launch double-spend attacks, and censor transactions. “I’ve been following for a while, and this time the 51% attack on Monero seems to have succeeded,” he wrote, citing information from the Black Handbook group.
While acknowledging the high operational cost of the takeover, Yu noted that it remains unclear what the economic benefits of such an attack might ultimately be.
Charles Guillemet, CTO at hardware wallet maker Ledger, confirmed the seriousness of the situation. “Monero appears to be in the midst of a successful 51% attack,” he said, adding that the Qubic mining pool has been amassing hashrate for months before reaching majority control. A major chain reorganization was detected earlier today, a clear sign of the attack’s success.
With its dominance, Qubic can effectively orphan any competing blocks, leaving other miners without incentive to continue. “In effect, a $300 million market-cap chain is taking over a $6 billion one,” Guillemet warned. He estimated the cost of sustaining the attack at $75 million per day, noting that while it could be financially rewarding in the short term, it risks destroying market confidence in Monero almost overnight.
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