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Crypto Terms:  Numbers

What is 51% Attack?

Meaning:
51% Attack - an instance when a fraudulent miner controls more than 50% of the total mining power and violates the blockchain's technology.
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Let's find out 51% Attack meaning, definition in crypto, what is 51% Attack, and all other detailed facts.

A 51% attack happens when a group of miners takes control over more than 50% of the network's hash rate and violates the blockchain's functionality. Nevertheless, a general agreement is needed for transactions to be added or confirmed in the blockchain.

A malicious individual that controls the majority of hashing or mining power might hypothetically "create the majority" in the consensus process. He can also disrupt the blockchain's integrity by altering transaction order, double-spending, or blocking transactions from being verified.

Blockchains with less hashing power are more fragile to 51% attacks. With such blockchains, bad-intended miners can easily obtain the required computing power. Therefore, the more miners and resources are spent mining a blockchain, the safer the blockchain is. For instance, the Bitcoin network is the most secure blockchain, because it has a huge amount of hashing power acquired through mining.

A few of the more well-known instances of 51% attacks happened in August 2016, when both Krypton and Shift (Ethereum-based networks) suffered from these attacks. Since then, there were quite a few similar incidents in the crypto industry.