Bitcoin Gold (BTG) has just suffered a 51-percent attack which resulted in the double-spending of 7,167 BTG (~$72,000). This isnāt the first time that the Bitcoin clone has been attacked in this fashion.
According to the President of MIT Bitcoin Club, James Lovejoy, Bitcoin Gold (BTG) has suffered yet another 51 percent attack. The vulnerability on the BTG network was exploited with the perpetrators managing to run away with $72,000 worth of BTG.
Bitcoin Gold Suffers 51% Attack
51% attacks happen when an entity is able to take over a majority of a networkās hash rate. With this control, the entity is then able to reverse transactions or allow for double-spending. The tactic has become common against proof-of-work blockchain networks, especially those with smaller market capitalizations. The double-spending on Bitcoin Gold occurred in two batches: one with 1,900 BTG ($19,400), and the second with 5,267 BTC ($54,000).
The latest attack on Bitcoin Gold (BTG) is not surprising given the networkās plummeting hash rate. Ever since July 2018, the Bitcoin hard forkās hash rate has dropped off to near-zero. The lack of security on the network has caused it to become maligned with 51% attacks, which will likely continue.
It has also been reported that the Bitcoin Gold attack was made easier by the lack of confirmations required by exchanges. Binance deposits of BTG, for example, can be credited with just six confirmations. This makes pulling off an attack and cashing out even easier.
Not the First Time
Itās not the first time Bitcoin Gold (BTG) has suffered a 51% attack, either. The Bitcoin clone recorded yet another 51% attack in 2018 which was far more costly. In total, around $18M was stolen through a 51% attack which effectively destroyed Bitcoin Goldās usability completely. Such attacks have become so popular that some hackers even took to YouTube to create tutorials on how to pull them off, as reported by BeInCrypto in October 2018.
Since then, it has been a marked decline for the Bitcoin hard fork. It managed to hit an all-time high of $439 in December 2017, like most of the market, before plummeting throughout 2018 and 2019. However, it is rallying today and is currently up 17.31%, trading at a price point of almost $12. Itās unclear what is causing the rally, but Bitcoin Goldās dismal hash rate seems to indicate that todayās rally is likely just another pump-and-dump.
