Crypto trade Kraken has suspended deposits of Monero (XMR) after the community suffered a confirmed 51% assault on August 12, elevating contemporary issues over the safety of mid-sized Proof-of-Work blockchains.
Based on community information, the Qubic mining pool briefly managed greater than half of Monero’s hashrate, peaking at 2.6GH/s. This majority dominance enabled Qubic to reorganize Monero’s blockchain six blocks deep, successfully rewriting transaction historical past and orphaning roughly 60 blocks.
Kraken steps in as a precaution
Kraken mentioned in a press release that Monero deposits had been paused as a safety measure:
“As a safety precaution, now we have paused Monero (XMR) deposits after detecting {that a} single mining pool has gained greater than 50% of the community’s complete hashing energy. This focus of mining energy poses a possible threat to community integrity. We’re actively monitoring the scenario and can resume deposits as soon as we decide it’s protected to take action. Buying and selling and withdrawals for XMR stay totally operational.”
Privateness coin underneath stress
Monero, launched in 2014, is understood for its sturdy privateness options. In contrast to Bitcoin and Ethereum, Monero conceals the sender, receiver, and transaction quantities, making it a most popular alternative for customers looking for anonymity. Whereas these options drive adoption amongst privateness advocates, the community’s smaller hashrate in comparison with top-tier blockchains has lengthy left it weak to majority assaults.
The latest exploit underscores these dangers, highlighting how concentrated mining swimming pools can quickly undermine the integrity of privacy-focused networks.
