SOB #446 The 51% Attack Nightmare Scenario (Isn't That Bad)

<p>On this&nbsp;<em>Speaking of Bitcoin</em>&nbsp;episode, join hosts Adam B. Levine, Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Stephanie Murphy &amp; Jonathan Mohan for an in-depth discussion about what’s really at risk when blockchains suffer the dreaded 51% attack.</p> <p><em>This episode is sponsored by&nbsp;</em><a href="https://crypto.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Crypto.com</em></a><em>,&nbsp;</em><a href="https://bit.ly/3eoichf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Bitstamp</em></a><em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;</em><a href="https://nexo.io/?utm_source=coindesk&amp;utm_medium=fixed&amp;utm_campaign=coindesk_podcasts_aug20&amp;utm_term=general&amp;utm_content=content" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Nexo.io</em></a><em>.</em></p> <p>On today’s show we’re talking 51% attacks, the much discussed, infrequently seen and fairly misunderstood doomsday scenarios. It’s recently re-emerged as a topic of discussion as Ethereum plans its transition to Proof-of-Stake and fork Ethereum Classic is hit by its third in less than a month.</p> <p>Although the numbers may change, basically any blockchain you can imagine is vulnerable to some form of the so-called 51% attack.&nbsp;By distributing the power within a protocol, say to miners instead of a corporate board, blockchains and other decentralized systems create and maintain a “Consensus Reality”, where what most of the network believes to be true&nbsp;<strong>is true</strong>, or&nbsp;<strong>becomes true</strong>&nbsp;for the entirety of the network.</p> <p><em><strong>See also:&nbsp;</strong></em><a href="https://www.coindesk.com/how-does-krakens-new-crypto-bank-work" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em><strong>How Does Kraken’s New Crypto Bank Work?</strong></em></a></p> <p>If you think about it, this makes sense.&nbsp;Each blockchain creates a game with a distinct set of rules that need to be followed for the thing to work. It requires lots of people who don’t know each other to individually follow those rules and get rewarded by the syst