Cryptocurrencies with lower market capitalization have the greatest risk of 51% mining attacks

Colleagues, the threat of 51% attacks loom large in the global cryptosphere. However, findings suggest that the potential for a 51% mining attack has an inverse correlation to the market cap of a given cryptocurrency. Attacks by a group of miners controlling more than 50% of the network's mining hashrate or computing power of the currency’s Blockchain. Two factors drive the propensity of a cryptocurrency 51% attack. First, cryptos with smaller market caps typically have fewer active miners. It is easier to gain control over 1000 miners of ZCoin, which ranks 100^th in market cap by CoinMarketCap at some $60m USD #1 ranked Bitcoin valued at roughly $114t USD with perhaps 1,000,000 active miners worldwide. Second, the availability of relatively low-cost mining pools enable cyber criminals the opportunity to “rent” GPU power from multiple pools simultaneously while subtly approaching the 51%+ threshold for controlling hashrates. Pre-emptive measures include making code changes at the Blockchain protocol level, boycotting likely attackers, increasing the number of confirmation requirements and unleashing a DDoS attacks on suspected hackers. Bottom line: There is no fail-safe strategy become a victim of a 51% Attack, however, investing in Tier 1 cryptocurrencies (e.g. the CoinMarketCap’s top 10 cryptos) provides optimal security and peace of mind. Post a comment today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)