Spur Protocol Crypto Quiz – May 4, 2025
Today's Question: When an individual or group of persons holds over 50% of hashing power is called?
- 51% Attack
- Monopoly
- Hashing Pool
- Chain Saturation
Correct Answer: 51% Attack
Explanation: This term specifically refers to controlling more than half of a blockchain network's computing power (hashing power), which can allow malicious actions. Learn more below!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is 'Hashing Power' in Cryptocurrency?
Hashing power is like the "thinking speed" of a computer trying to solve puzzles on a blockchain network (like Bitcoin). These puzzles help check and confirm transactions and add new blocks of information to the digital chain.
Imagine computers guessing numbers very fast to find a specific answer. The faster a computer can guess, the higher its 'hashing power'. More hashing power means a better chance of solving the puzzle first and earning cryptocurrency rewards (like Bitcoin mining).
Hashing power is measured in how many guesses per second:
- KH/s: KiloHashes per second (thousands)
- MH/s: MegaHashes per second (millions)
- GH/s: GigaHashes per second (billions)
- TH/s: TeraHashes per second (trillions)
- PH/s: PetaHashes per second (quadrillions)
Powerful computers, like special mining machines (ASICs) or top gaming cards (GPUs), can make trillions or even quadrillions of guesses every single second!
What is a 51% Attack in Crypto?
A 51% attack happens if one person, or a single group working together, gets control of more than half (over 50%) of a cryptocurrency network's total hashing power.
Why is this bad? Because having majority control allows them to potentially cheat the system. They could:
- Stop other people's valid transactions from being confirmed.
- Spend their own cryptocurrency, then reverse the transaction to spend it again (called "double-spending").
- Prevent other miners from finding new blocks.
- Damage trust and confidence in that cryptocurrency network.
This type of attack is very difficult and expensive to do on large, well-established networks like Bitcoin because you'd need an enormous amount of computing power and electricity. However, smaller cryptocurrencies with less total hashing power are more vulnerable to 51% attacks.
