The controversial AI-focused crypto project Qubic has suggested it may mine Dogecoin (DOGE), the largest memecoin, after completing its current operations on Monero (XMR), the privacy-focused blockchain network.

On Aug. 17, Qubic Network founder Sergey Ivancheglo shared a Discord screenshot showing that the community voted to target Dogecoin for the upcoming mining season.

This decision followed a proposal from Ivancheglo inviting the community to select which ASIC-enabled proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain the network should prioritize next.

The options included Dogecoin, Kaspa, Zcash, and other ASIC-mined coins. Dogecoin emerged as the clear winner, securing around 301 votes, more than all other options combined.

If Qubic begins mining DOGE, it could gain more notoriety than during its Monero operations. Last week, Qubic claimed control of most of Monero’s hashrate, which led Kraken to temporarily suspend XMR deposits amid reports of a 51% network attack.

Dogecoin mining

Dogecoin, launched in 2013 as a joke, has evolved into a major player in the crypto market.

The coin gained widespread attention after Elon Musk highlighted it several times on X (formerly Twitter), helping DOGE grow into a top-10 crypto asset with a market capitalization exceeding $33 billion.

However, mining DOGE would be far from straightforward. Competition in the space has intensified over the years, with major Bitcoin miners such as BIT Mining generating significant revenue from Dogecoin mining.

According to CoinWarz data, Dogecoin’s network hash rate currently stands at 2.93 PH/s, offering miners potential profits of roughly $21 per day per unit of mining power.

Due to this, Ivancheglo emphasized that preparations for mining DOGE will take months, with the Qubic pool continuing to mine Monero during this period.

Dogecoin mining profitability

While precise network-wide figures aren’t published, a back-of-the-envelope estimate suggests Dogecoin miners collectively earned in the ballpark of $0.84–$1.02 billion over the last 12 months.

Using Dogecoin’s issuance math (≈1,440 blocks/day × 10,000 DOGE) and an average price assumption of ~$0.16 implies roughly $2.304 million/day (≈$841 million/year).

Cross-checking with a revenue-per-hash snapshot of ~$1.08 per GH/s against an aggregate network hashrate near ~2.6 PH/s (≈2,600,000 GH/s) yields about $2.808 million/day (≈$1.025 billion/year).

These are gross figures (fees are small, electricity and opex excluded) and will vary with DOGE price and hashrate swings, but they frame the scale of potential revenue Qubic is eyeing.

Qubic’s goal

Ivancheglo explained that his AI project targets these PoW blockchains to redirect energy-intensive proof-of-work computations toward artificial intelligence applications.

According to him:

“A lot of electricity is burned for useless PoW, we need that electricity for AI. These words may be hard to get and I cannot reveal more now, in the future they will eventually click.”

Notably, Qubic has developed a “useful proof-of-work” system that turns crypto mining energy into productive computation. Instead of solving meaningless puzzles like traditional PoW, the network spreads tasks across miners to advance artificial intelligence research.

According to the project, this method directs energy toward real-world outcomes and helps train AI models, which supports its long-term goal of creating Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

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Crypto exchange Kraken has announced the suspension of Monero (XMR) deposits following a confirmed 51% attack on the network on August 12. The attack was linked to the Qubic mining pool, which managed to control over half of Monero’s hashrate, peaking at 2.6GH/s.

This dominance allowed Qubic to conduct a six-block deep reorganization of Monero’s blockchain, effectively rewriting history and orphaning around 60 blocks. The attack exposes the vulnerability of mid-tier Proof-of-work networks like Monero to majority control maneuvers.

Kraken follows ‘security precaution’ with Monero

Monero is a privacy-focused coin designed to provide secure, anonymous, and untraceable transactions. Unlike transparent blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, Monero conceals the sender, receiver, and amount for every transaction, and is popular among users who value financial privacy and freedom.

Launched in April 2014, Monero has suffered previous security incidents, including a flooding attack in March 2024 that congested the network. However, the recent 51% attack is the first major breach of Monero’s consensus protocol, heightening community concern about mining concentration and network resilience. Kraken posted:

“As a security precaution, we have paused Monero (XMR) deposits after detecting that a single mining pool has gained more than 50% of the network’s total hashing power. This concentration of mining power poses a potential risk to network integrity.

We are actively monitoring the situation and will resume deposits once we determine it is safe to do so. Trading and withdrawals for XMR remain fully operational.”

Lack of official communications makes Monero look ‘weak’

Monero’s price has fallen by as much as 14%, with the episode reigniting concerns about the centralization of mining in privacy-centric cryptocurrencies and the market impact of such attacks.

While security analysts are still debating the degree to which the reorganization constituted a full 51% attack (some argue it was a stress test on Monero’s decentralization rather than a purely malicious assault), a lack of official communications are conspicuous by their absence, as privacy-centric Unstoppable Wallet posted:

“To be honest, we kind of deserve this…

Zero unified pushback, no official statements, outdated website, passive devs.

Meanwhile Qubic, despite not actually hitting 51%, are winning the info war simply by being loud.

Monero community looks weak.

It’s both pathetic.”

As exchanges like Kraken take protective action, the broader crypto community will need to reconsider the resilience strategies for networks with smaller mining populations, as regulators highlight the added risk of privacy coins in centralized trading environments.

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Qubic, a project led by former IOTA co-founder Sergey Ivancheglo, says it has secured more than 51% of Monero’s global hashrate, a milestone that, if true, gives it the ability to reorganize blocks, censor transactions, and attempt double-spends on the privacy-focused blockchain.

Ivancheglo framed the move as a stress test to help the Monero community prepare for future network threats, but the announcement has triggered sharp debate among developers and security experts.

A 51% attack occurs when a single entity or coordinated group controls a majority of a proof-of-work network’s hashrate. Ethereum Classic suffered multiple reorganizations in 2020, resulting in millions of dollars in losses, while Bitcoin Gold faced similar assaults in 2018 and 2020.

Smaller networks like Verge have also been targeted, demonstrating how concentrated hashing power can destabilize and entire cryptocurrency network.

Monero, which uses the CPU-friendly RandomX algorithm, has long prided itself on resisting ASIC centralization. Qubic’s “useful proof-of-work” (uPoW) model repurposes Monero mining rewards by converting XMR into USDT, then using the proceeds to buy and burn QUBIC tokens, a deflationary mechanism that doubles as a liquidity sink for its own ecosystem.

From mid-May to late July, Qubic’s share of the network jumped from less than 2% to over 25%, at times topping pool rankings.

Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet warned on X that Monero “appears to be in the midst of a successful 51% attack,” citing signs of a major chain reorganization, with several other industry experts like SlowMist founder Yu Xian expressing their doubt over Qubic’s economics.

Whether the events mark a hostile takeover or simply a stress test, XMR has responded negatively, dropping by 6.65% in the past 24 hours to compound a 16% decline over the past week.

Read more: How $330M BTC Hacker May Have Doubled Down on Monero Derivatives

The privacy-focused cryptocurrency Monero has suffered a major disruption, with 60 mined blocks discarded from its blockchain in the past 24 hours amid an ongoing attempted 51% attack by the Qubic network.

The Monero Consensus Status dashboard shows Monero saw 60 orphaned blocks (valid blocks that were rejected) in the last 720 blocks. The disruption comes amid an ongoing economic attack by the Qubic network, incentivizing selfish mining.

Qubic miners redirect their computing power to mine Monero (XMR) and sell the proceeds to buy and burn Qubic tokens, while being paid in QUBIC. Qubic miners reportedly earn more than Monero miners under this setup.

The attack has sparked fears of a possible “51% attack” — a rare and serious event that can let attackers rewrite transactions or block them entirely.

An orphaned block is a valid block excluded from the main chain because another competing block at the same height was accepted first. In selfish mining, a miner with significant hashrate withholds blocks and publishes them strategically to overtake the public chain, causing honest miners’ work to be discarded.

As of the time of writing, Monero’s price stands at over $247, down over 8.6% from the price of over $276 reported 24 hours ago.

Qubic attack disrupts Monero network

Qubic’s Monero mining pool openly engages in selfish mining, with Qubic founder Sergey Ivancheglo admitting it in an X post. Ivancheglo claimed in a Tuesday X post that “Qubic has achieved 51% over Monero” and the team is “waiting for independent confirmations.”

Related: 51% attack on Ethereum more difficult than on Bitcoin — Justin Drake

A 51% attack occurs when a single entity — in this case, the Qubic mining pool — controls over half of a blockchain network’s mining power or stake, allowing them to manipulate transactions. Zhong Chenming, the co-founder of crypto cybersecurity firm SlowMist, said in a Tuesday X post that “this time the 51% attack on Monero seems to have succeeded.” He added:

“The cost was also high, and it’s unclear what the economic benefits of doing this are in the end… In theory, the Qubic mining pool can now rewrite the blockchain, achieve double-spending, and censor any transactions.”

Not everyone is convinced

Doubts remain around whether a successful 51% attack occurred. Engaging in selfish mining with control over a high percentage of the hashrate that is short of the majority can occasionally lead to orphaned blocks.

Monero’s total hashrate evaluation by CoinWarz results in a 5 GH/s estimation. Unverified data provided by Qubic claims a peak hashrate of 3.01 GH/s, which is more than sufficient, and a current hashrate of 2.08 GH/s, insufficient for a 51% attack.

The Monero Consensus Status also indicates that the number of blocks mined by unknown mining pools and solo miners — the category which includes Qubic — reached nearly 30% on Aug. 11. This could signal Qubic controlling most of the hashrate for a brief period, or controlling a significant portion but still a minority of the hashrate.

SeraiDEX’s lead developer, Luke Parker, raised an issue with reports that a 51% attack took place in a separate X post. He noted that a six-block-deep network reorganization with block orphaning “does not mean a ‘51% attack’ was successful.”

“It does mean an adversary with a high amount of hash got lucky,” he added.

Related: Coin Metrics research shows BTC and ETH are immune to 51% attacks

Hack war escalates between networks

Qubic and Monero are locked in an ongoing hack war, trading countermeasures. Ivancheglo previously wrote on X that Monero broke Qubic’s selfish mining system, prompting his fix. Before that, Ivancheglo accused a developer of Monero mining software XMRig, Sergei Chernykh, of denial-of-service (DDoS) attackg Qubic’s pool, leading to hashrate losses — a claim Chernykh disputes.

The attack first started in late July when the community noticed what it described as an “economic attack.” The operation uses economic incentives — paying Qubic miners more than Monero miners — in an attempt to take control over most of Monero’s hashrate and consequently the network.

Niko Demchuk, head of legal at onchain forensics firm AMLBot, told Cointelegraph that Qubic’s attack on Monero could be deemed “computer sabotage” or “unauthorized access” under Belarusian and European Union laws. However, no statute explicitly mentions 51% attacks. Demchuk said Belarus’ cybercrime rules could apply if blockchain manipulation disrupts protected systems.

Magazine: Bitcoin vs. the quantum computer threat: Timeline and solutions (2025–2035)

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/monero-price-dips-as-qubic-likely-succeeds-in-51-attack/feed/ 0 52824 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/monero-community-pushes-back-as-qubics-51-hash-rate-bid-falters/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/monero-community-pushes-back-as-qubics-51-hash-rate-bid-falters/#respond Tue, 29 Jul 2025 07:31:32 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/monero-community-pushes-back-as-qubics-51-hash-rate-bid-falters/

A fast‑moving fight over mining power consumed Monero’s weekend after Sergey Ivancheglo used X to promote an “economic” campaign to dominate the network’s hashrate, which was met by community resistance.

The fight escalated after Ivancheglo, the figure behind Qubic and better known as Come‑from‑Beyond (CFB), confirmed the takeover intentions with an incentive-driven 51% attack.

As a response, the community gathered in the “supportxmr.com” pool to hold the majority of Monero’s mining capacity.

The 51% takeover plan

Qubic’s plan surfaced across X and Reddit as a pay‑to‑switch mining campaign. By offering richer payouts than ordinary pools, Qubic aims to attract enough Monero miners to its pool to surpass 51% of the network hash, a threshold that would enable it to orphan rivals’ blocks, delay confirmations, and potentially censor transactions. 

Ivancheglo publicly flagged Aug. 2 to Aug. 31 as a window of elevated risk and urged exchanges to raise Monero deposit confirmations, framing the move as a precaution during their “test.”

On Reddit, Monero miners and users viewed the campaign as a live 51% attack attempt, driven by incentives rather than a code exploit. Posts in forums dedicated to the Monero community on Reddit tracked Qubic’s pool share and warned that concentration could enable orphaned blocks, delayed confirmations, or transaction censorship. 

A thread titled “Qubic/Sergey Ivancheglo 51% attack plans” complained of “silence from most devs,” while another, “The timeline for the 51% attack is August,” claimed the pool had mined 31 of the last 100 blocks and urged a community response.

Community reaction

Analyst Dan Dadybayo explained on an X thread how Monero was under attack through an incentive campaign, arguing that intent is secondary to the risk of centralization when a single pool can outbid the rest of the network for hashpower. 

His follow‑ups described why Monero’s CPU‑friendly RandomX and highly mobile miners make such an attack plausible if incentives are aligned. 

The Monero subreddit’s tone oscillated between alarm and organization.

Members of the Monero community highlighted on X and Reddit Qubic’s rise into the top tier of pools through richer payouts and warned that waiting for 40% and 50% dominance would be too late.

The reaction led to the community rallying behind the mining pool “supportxmr.com” to battle Qubic in an attempt to lead Monero’s mining capacity. As of press time, the 4,970 miners composing the pool accounted for 28.7% of the network hash rate, having mined 36 out of the last 100 blocks.

Nevertheless, a Qubic spokesperson told CryptoSlate that the 51% takeover will still be attempted, adding:

“The goal is not to harm, such as tx reversals, but to make every miner on the Monero network join the QUBIC mining pool.”

Furthermore, Qubic highlighted a June proposal in which the community must decide whether other blocks should be orphaned in the event of a 51% attack. Among what the proposal portrays as benefits are reduced fees for Monero users, boosted revenue for miners, integration with Qubic miners, and a “practical test of a 51% attack and possibility to analyze its impact on XMR price.”

As of press time, there is no commentary in the proposal.

Benevolent attack

Ivancheglo dismissed alarm as “fear‑mongering,” even as his project urged exchanges to increase Monero confirmation thresholds, escalating concern across Reddit and crypto Twitter. 

He framed the effort as industry research. He said he was “trying to find a countermeasure to Qubic’s 51% domination,” a claim that did little to calm Monero users who worried the “demo” could do real damage. 

In addition, Ivancheglo said:

“This is very important to the #cryptocurrency industry because one day we all may face a non-benevolent attack.”

The uneven tone has led to rampant speculation that Qubic may want to normalize a majority‑hash posture while portraying it as benevolent.

The episode highlights that proof-of-work networks can be pressured not only by raw hashrate rentals but also by token-driven incentive loops that outpay organic mining.

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An international law enforcement effort has dismantled one of the world’s largest and longest-running criminal marketplaces on the darknet, arresting its suspected German operator in Spain and seizing millions in illicit assets, according to a June 16 press release.

The takedown, coordinated by the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office, Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the Spanish National Police, the Dutch National Police, and additional partners in Sweden and Romania, targeted the illicit platform known as “Archetyp Market.”

Infrastructure seized in raid

A 30-year-old German citizen was captured at his residence in Barcelona on June 11 by a Spanish police tactical unit.

Prosecutors allege he operated Archetyp Market with other moderators, enabling large-scale trafficking of drugs including amphetamine, cannabis, fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine.

Investigators estimate the site generated more than €250 million ($267 million) in sales, with around 17,000 active listings, over 612,000 customer accounts, and about 3,200 registered vendors.

Transactions on the website relied exclusively on Monero (XMR), a privacy-focused cryptocurrency favored in darknet trades.

Authorities searched the suspect’s apartment in Barcelona and properties in Hannover, Germany and in Bucharest, Romania. They seized eight mobile phones, four computers, 34 storage devices, and assets totaling about €7.8 million ($8.3 million).

Meanwhile, the Dutch National Police located and disabled the marketplace’s server infrastructure in a data center in the Netherlands, cutting off access worldwide.

Wider arrests

Further raids took place across Germany and Sweden in coordinated actions against moderators and vendors affiliated with the market.

Law enforcement searched 20 additional properties, including sites in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Hesse, and Baden-Württemberg, and arrested seven suspects in Sweden.

In total, the operation netted 47 smartphones, 45 computers and notebooks, various narcotics, and more illicit proceeds linked to the platform’s activities. The substantial trove of data seized is expected to provide new leads as investigations continue.

The main suspect faces charges of operating a large-scale narcotics trafficking ring under German law, carrying severe penalties if convicted.

The shutdown of Archetyp Market marks another major success in a string of global efforts to curb cybercrime, dismantle darknet infrastructure, and disrupt digital money laundering networks in recent years.

A suspected theft of 3,520 Bitcoin valued at approximately $330.7 million has triggered a sharp rally in Monero (XMR), after the stolen funds were laundered through multiple instant exchanges.

The incident, flagged by blockchain investigator ZachXBT, began when the BTC was transferred from a potential victim’s wallet to a known suspicious address.

The launderers swiftly moved the funds across more than six exchanges, converting large amounts of Bitcoin into Monero, a privacy-centric cryptocurrency renowned for its untraceable transactions.

Monero Soars 50% to Multi-Year High

The sudden surge in demand caused XMR’s price to spike by 50%, reaching highs of $329, a level unseen in years.

As of now, the token is trading at $267.03, up by 16.3% over the past day, according to data from CoinGekco.

Data from Coinglass revealed that over $1 million in short positions were liquidated during the rally, further fueling upward pressure.

Monero’s price breakout also coincided with growing anticipation around its upcoming EP159 and EP160 upgrades.

These proposals aim to make Monero more “compliance-friendly” by enabling users to prove transaction validity without revealing private details — a move analysts believe could pave the way for Monero’s relisting on major exchanges like Binance and Coinbase under Europe’s new MiCA regulations.

Notably, other privacy-focused tokens, including Zcash (ZEC), Dash (DASH), and Decred (DCR), also posted notable gains.

Finnish Authorities Trace Monero in High-Profile Hack

Despite the appeal of privacy tokens like Monero for offering enhanced anonymity, the National Bureau of Investigation in Finland reportedly made significant progress in tracing XMR transactions as part of an investigation into the criminal trial of Julius Aleksanteri Kivimäki.

Kivimäki stands accused of hacking a private mental health firm’s database and demanding ransom payments in cryptocurrencies.

Last year, prosecutors revealed a crypto trail that led to Kivimäki’s bank account.

The alleged hacker had supposedly demanded 40 Bitcoin, equivalent to approximately 450,000 euros at the time, in exchange for not exposing records belonging to over 33,000 patients from psychotherapy service provider Vastaamo.

When the ransom went unpaid, Kivimäki purportedly targeted individual patients.

Finnish police claim that the hacker received payments in Bitcoin, sent the funds to a non-compliant Know Your Customer (KYC) exchange, converted them into Monero, and then transferred them to a dedicated Monero wallet.

Subsequently, the funds were reportedly sent to Binance, where they were exchanged for Bitcoin once again before being moved to various other wallets.

The local authorities have maintained confidentiality and have not disclosed further details regarding their on-chain analysis.

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