Following a similar fate as BitCoin Gold, ZenCash and Verge, LiteCoin Cash (LCC) has become the most recent victim of the dreaded 51% attack. The attack comes hot on the heels of LiteCoin Cash retweeting a picture of self-appointed crypto-promoter John McAfee brandishing a shotgun and ‘presenting’ LCC.
From @ether_bots pic.twitter.com/Ar86EFaC1R
— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) June 5, 2018
So-called ‘51% attacks‘ are a method of stealing cryptocurrency by taking majority control of a blockchain using an excess of computing power. Previously, such attacks were deemed hypothetical due to the financial costs required to buy enough equipment to amass enough computer power. However, due to new services that have arisen that provide the ability to ‘rent’ computing power, they have become a reality.
During an attack, hackers are able to prevent new transactions and even halt payments, allowing them to ‘double spend’ coins which they can then withdraw and convert to other cryptocurrencies.
Minimal Damage
Apparently, LiteCoin Cash developers were able to alert exchanges in sufficient time and have not suffered too badly from the attack. They are now working a system to prevent further attacks by limiting major hash-rate spikes, possibly with a hard fork.
A recent website was setup to monitor the potential vulnerability of a 51% attack on all major cryptocurrencies. The Litecoin Cash blockchain is currently estimated to cost $282 to attack for one hour.
As more and more small coins become victims of such attacks, Maybe the next big blockchain innovation should be a method to help users stop falling for “make money schemes” backed by false claims, like the Bitcoin Profit and Richard Branson, who falsely claim that they are endorsed by the Virgin Group Entrepreneur?
LiteCoin Cash (LCC) is trading down almost 6% in the past 24 hours, at $0.053 with a market cap of $30 million.
Image From Shutterstock
