Bitcoin SV hit by a 51% attack

Bitcoin is a perfect combination of block time, block size, decentralization, and other factors within a PoW blockchain, which made it the most robust crypto by far. Bitcoin forks are the attempts to modify one aspect or another to increase scalability, but in the long run they are all missing the spot: the blockchain becomes heavy, the blocks don’t get fast enough to all nodes…etc, which all results in a lesser decentralization and a weaker security.

BitcoinSV (BSV) is undoubtedly one of the worst Bitcoin forks and it’s run only by a handful of nodes, compared to the thousands that maintain Bitcoin. Being so centralized, it’s much more susceptible to hacks, and that’s what happened yesterday, when malicious actors launched a 51% attack, creating new chains and messing with a dozen of existing blocks. A 51% attack means that the hackers gathered at least 51% of the network computing power and could maintain it for some time, and that’s not the first time BSV is facing it. It has already fallen victim to a series of double-spending attacks in June and July, leading some BSV miners, such as Binance Pool, to withdraw – which weakened its network even more.

It is probable that the intensifying attacks were provoked by the BSV founder Craig Wright himself, who continues to affirm that he is Satoshi Nakamoto in a quite obnoxious manner. The ridiculousness of the recent London Court’s decision, which on Mr Wright’s demand forced bitcoin. org website to remove Bitcoin Whitepaper from the website in UK, did not make him more friends in the crypto world.  

The BSV attack is another reminder about the importance of a blockchain’s network and its decentralization. The more nodes run the blockchain and mine its currency, the more secure it becomes. And Bitcoin is still an uncontested leader when it comes to security.