Re:Show HN: Cost of a 51% Attack on Popular Cryptocurrencies
by xur17 on Monday May 28, 2018 @01:22PM
(#17173580)
For smaller coins it's especially scary because existing miners could easily switch to the coin for a few hours to mount an attack.
Re:Show HN: Cost of a 51% Attack on Popular Cryptocurrencies
by acchow on Monday May 28, 2018 @07:39PM
(#17175437)
There's already a GPU and ASIC shortage with prices skyrocketing - even without someone attempting a 51% attack. Being a PC gamer is tought right now - you often can't even find a GPU in stock!
Can't imagine how difficult it would be to hoard a ton of hardware.
It's like how companies' market caps are determined by the the last few trades, even though the last few trades probably represent .01% (or less) of the shares in the company.
Probably best to read the numbers a bit qualitatively. A coin that is 2% nicehashable would require substantial efforts (probably negotiating with a few private pools) to mount an attack; perhaps impossible for a not-connected miner. Wheres coins approaching the double digit percents probably is quite possible if you have even lukewarm connections. And those near 100% or above are likely super vulnerable.