A plan to save an exploded cryto : eth

A plan to save an exploded cryptocurrency: Ethereum Classic fights for its survival

The Ethereum Classic network recently made headlines, following two consecutive 51% attacks that resulted in the loss of the equivalent of $ 7 million. However, it has not said its last word! ETC Labs has just unveiled its plan to secure the network in the short and medium term. 

A loss of $ 7 million linked to the 51% attacks 

At the beginning of August, the Ethereum Classic network suffered two 51% attacks within a week. As a reminder, a 51% attack occurs when a miner manages to monopolize more than half of the computing power of the network, which allows him to carry out double expenses.

In ETC's case, the two attacks resulted in the loss of $ 7 million across multiple exchanges. So much so that some exchanges even came to wonder if they were not simply going to withdraw the cryptocurrency from their platform .

ETC Labs' plan to pass the milestone

Obviously, ETC Labs - the  company in charge of the development of Ethereum Classic - is  not going to watch its network die. Thus, it has just unveiled the ETC Network Security Plan , a series of short and medium term updates aimed at securing the network against the threat of 51% attacks .

In the immediate future, ETC Labs launched the “ Defensive Mining ” plan which aims to increase cooperation between miners to maintain a more constant hashrate and to adjust it as needed. This includes, for example, taking action when a peak in hashrate is detected to try to thwart a potential 51% attack.

Another measure is to work closely with trading platforms , which should result in the creation of a whitelist of addresses as well as an adjustment of the confirmation times, once again to minimize the chances of attacks.

However, that's not all! ETC Labs is also planning a series of long-term updates. Among these, we find the possibility of changing the consensus mode to switch to PirlGuard , known to be more resistant to 51% attacks.

Another possibility would be the implementation of a checkpoint , which “would use a set of external parties who safely manage a help desk that guarantees the properties of the blockchain and can be relied on when the hash power is. low".

Finally, ETC Labs even goes so far as to imagine a possible change in the mining algorithm , where Ethash would give way to the Keccak-256 or RandomX algorithm . However, these modifications could take 3 to 6 months before being deployed thanks to a hardfork on the mainnet .

This course of action appears to be good news for Ethereum Classic. However, the various measures presented may suggest an increase in centralization around a small group of actors. Decentralization or security, it seems that the choice has been made.