Catenaa, Sunday, August 03, 2025- Qubic, a blockchain project led by IOTA co-founder Sergey Ivancheglo, is stirring controversy after gaining control of more than 20% of Monero’s mining hashrate and signaling plans to seize a majority stake by early August.
Qubic employs a “useful proof of work” (uPoW) system that has driven its share of Monero’s global hashrate from under 2% in May to a peak above 27%, briefly making it the largest mining pool before community backlash pushed it to seventh place.
Ivancheglo has openly stated that between August 2 and 31, Qubic aims to control 51% of Monero’s hashrate as an “economic demo” of its technology, denying malicious intent but warning the move may disrupt the privacy-focused network.
A 51% attack occurs when an entity controls the majority of mining power, enabling it to reject blocks from other miners, cause transaction delays, and potentially compromise network integrity. Qubic plans to stop reporting its hashrate after August 2 to highlight the risks of such dominance.
The Monero community and analysts express deep concern about the implications for decentralization and security. Some suspect Qubic may be renting hashrate or using bots, though no proof has emerged. Experts warn that the attack represents a broader challenge for proof-of-work blockchains, emphasizing the need for incentive-aligned infrastructure beyond cryptographic strength.
Despite the turmoil, Monero’s token price remained stable near \$321. The episode serves as a cautionary tale about the vulnerability of decentralized networks to capital-driven power consolidation.
