THELOGICALINDIAN - Vertcoin afresh suffered its additional 51 advance in 12 months with the newest advance occurring about absolutely 1 year back the antecedent one
Reports of a 51% advance on the activity accepted as Vertcoin (VTC) has abounding the web in the aftermost few hours. The advance reportedly took abode on December 1st at 15.19 UTC, back about 603 blocks got removed from the project’s capital blockchain. Simultaneously, the attackers replaced them with 553 of antagonist blocks.
According to reports, there were about 5 recorded affairs that included double-spending, while the hacker managed to ‘earn’ about 13825 VTC bill from block rewards, which is about 0.44 BTC ($3,211).
However, one absorbing detail apropos the advance is that it took abode absolutely a year afterwards the antecedent attack, Bitcoinist reported in aboriginal December 2018.
Vertcoin Falls Victim Again
Reports of Vertcoin (VTC) adversity a 51% advance started arising in aboriginal December 2018, back the activity accomplished 22 abysmal alternation reorganizations. 15 of them reportedly included double-spending of VTC. In the after-effects of the event, it was estimated that attackers had baseborn about $100,000, while the better reorg went 300 blocks deep, according to aftermost year’s Medium report by Mark Nesbitt.
Now, a Github user accepted as metalicjames, who is Vertacoin’s advance maintainer, James Lovejoy, reported that the advance happened already again. According to the report, the activity alone the PoW algorithm afterwards the aftermost attack, and confused to Lyra2REv3. While developers believed that the activity was safer for it, one of the miners started acquainted an abnormal advance in hashrate rental prices on November 30th, 2019.
Since Bittrex is Vertcoin’s best trafficked barter by volume, the barter was notified of the doubtable adventure and brash to abutting its wallet to the coin. Bittrex reacted by disabling withdrawals as anon as they accustomed affidavit that the activity was beneath a 51% attack.
The motive charcoal unclear
For the moment, developers doubtable that attackers acclimated the hashrate rental service, Nicehash. Lovejoy believes that the antagonist spent amid 0.5 and 1 BTC to accomplish the attack, advertence that their efforts were not absolutely profitable.
This leads to the catechism — why conduct the advance at all? Vertcoin is currently 194th better cryptocurrency, with a bazaar cap of $12.5 million. Meanwhile, its trading aggregate in the aftermost 24 hours sits at $363,000. The coin’s amount is currently at $0.236971, afterwards adversity a 6.84% bead in the aftermost 24 hours.
With the date of the advance actuality absolutely one year back the aftermost one, and the actuality that the advance was not at all profitable, it appears that the hacker(s) had a altered ambition in mind. Lovejoy speculated that the advance ability be proof-of-concept sabotage.
Alternatively, the absolute ambition of the advance may accept been Bittrex itself, although Lovejoy credibility out that the double-spend allocation advance was aborted alike afore the barter disabled their wallet. In added words, PoC demolition seems like the best accurate account as of now.
Do you anticipate that two attacks on Vertcoin are connected? Let us apperceive in the comments below.
Image via Shutterstock, Twitter @metalicjames
