A lot of interesting things are happening in the world of cryptocurrency, but some trends are less than positive. The Vertcoin mining situation, for example, doesn’t look all that promising as of right now. With one pool controlling a large amount of the network’s hashrate, there is genuine reason for concern.
Vertcoin Faces a Potential 51% Attack
It is never good to see any cryptocurrency be susceptible to a possible 51% attack against the network. For those unaware, a 51% attack can effectively cripple a cryptocurrency’s network pretty quickly. Although such attacks are very rare, there are some concerns as far as Vertcoin is concerned right now. That’s because there is one miner or pool controlling the majority of the network’s hashrate right now.
Anyone controlling such a large amount of hashpower can invalidate network blocks and transactions if they want to. It seems highly unlikely that is the objective in this case, but it is still something to be aware of. It is not the first time a popular cryptocurrency has faced such a dilemma, though.
Not that long ago, Litecoin was on the verge of facing a 51% attack as well. One mining pool suddenly gained a lot of hashpower, even though the problem was resolved pretty quickly without causing any major disruptions. One can only hope the current Vertcoin situation will play out in a similar manner. It is still a bit early to determine how things will play out in this regard, though.
It is also a bit unclear why Vertcoin’s hashrate has shifted in favor of this particular address or pool so quickly. Although it may be a temporary blip on the radar, this situation will need to be nipped in the bud as quickly as possible. That will be quite a challenge, especially if an individual miner is involved. Considering that Vertcoin is still ASIC resistant – or should be, at least – it is impossible to determine what type of hardware is being used to make such an impact on the network.
Judging by the statistics, this particular address has a colorful history when it comes to Vertcoin mining. It has gradually built up its hashrate after experiencing a massive dip a few weeks ago. As of right now, it is discovering and generating Vertcoin blocks in quick succession. This shouldn’t affect the Vertcoin ecosystem all that much in the near term, but it could become a big problem if this situation remains in place.
All of this further confirms that there is genuine interest among people looking to mine altcoins. Vertcoin has seen some intriguing developments over the past year or so, and things continue to improve. As such, it is only normal that more miners will flock to VTC in the future, although one can only hope there will be fewer attempts to control the network moving forward.
