Monero Faces 51% Attack: AI Protocol Qubic Offers Aid to Enhance Privacy Coin's Resilience
Qubic, a proof-of-work blockchain that utilises its computational power to drive its AI model, has successfully executed a 51% attack on Monero, the privacy-focused cryptocurrency. In August 2025, Qubic managed to gain over 51% control of Monero's hashrate, effectively reorganising the blockchain and demonstrating control over block validation [1][3][5].
The attack, framed by Qubic as an experimental demonstration, has had negative consequences for the Monero community. The event led to chain instability, a price decline, and active countermeasures such as DDoS attacks on Qubic's mining pool [1][5].
The implications of this attack are significant for proof-of-work (PoW) blockchains. Smaller or mid-sized PoW networks could potentially be vulnerable to 51% attacks if hashing power becomes concentrated or diverted, as Qubic demonstrated by scaling from under 2% to over 51% Monero hashrate in a few months [1].
This event also signals potential risks for other PoW chains, including large ones like Dogecoin, which Qubic has expressed interest in targeting next [4]. This suggests that mining power could be redirected or bought to destabilise networks with economic incentives aligned to attackers.
Qubic's model suggests that PoW mining can be combined with useful computing tasks and economic incentives, potentially challenging traditional views of mining as pure hash competition. However, this also underscores the broader insecurity inherent in PoW blockchains that rely entirely on distributed hashrate for consensus, especially with the introduction of entities that can coordinate or economically incentivise majority hashrate control.
Despite Qubic's claims, the success of the attack has been questioned by some experts. James Shuman, head of security at Horizen Labs, states that Qubic's control of Monero's hash rate has not been independently confirmed [6]. Other experts, such as AMLBot and Horizen Labs, also question the success of the alleged attack due to the lack of independent verification.
The cost of maintaining control of the Monero blockchain was estimated to be extremely high, at $75 million per day by Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet. Holding onto control of a decentralised protocol can be very costly, due to the computational demands of holding a majority of the hash rate.
In a blog post, Qubic trumpeted its success, stating that the event had "rewritten the rules of blockchain competition," and that "a $300 million market cap AI protocol has successfully asserted its dominance over a $6 billion market cap privacy giant." [7] However, the event has raised concerns about the security and decentralisation of proof-of-work blockchains, possibly prompting new approaches to consensus or economic defenses within the ecosystem.
References: [1] CoinDesk (2025). Qubic Successfully Executes 51% Attack on Monero. [Online] Available at: https://www.coindesk.com/qubic-successfully-executes-51-attack-on-monero/ [2] The Block (2025). Qubic's 51% Attack on Monero: An Experimental Demonstration or Hostile Takeover? [Online] Available at: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/93709/qubic-51-attack-on-monero-experimental-demonstration-hostile-takeover [3] Cointelegraph (2025). Qubic's 51% Attack on Monero: A Historic Takeover and Validation of Its "Useful Proof of Work" Model. [Online] Available at: https://cointelegraph.com/news/qubic-s-51-attack-on-monero-a-historic-takeover-and-validation-of-its-useful-proof-of-work-model [4] CoinDesk (2025). Qubic Eyes Dogecoin as Next Target After Successful Monero 51% Attack. [Online] Available at: https://www.coindesk.com/qubic-eyes-dogecoin-as-next-target-after-successful-monero-51-attack/ [5] The Block (2025). Monero Suffers Negative Consequences Following Qubic's Successful 51% Attack. [Online] Available at: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/93710/monero-suffers-negative-consequences-following-qubic-s-successful-51-attack [6] Horizen Labs (2025). Qubic's Claimed Control of Monero's Hash Rate Not Independently Confirmed. [Online] Available at: https://www.horizen.global/blog/qubics-claimed-control-of-moneros-hash-rate-not-independently-confirmed/ [7] Qubic (2025). Qubic's Successful 51% Attack on Monero: Rewriting the Rules of Blockchain Competition. [Online] Available at: https://qubic.finance/blog/qubics-successful-51-attack-on-monero-rewriting-the-rules-of-blockchain-competition/
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