Hacker nets over $5 million in Ethereum Classic 51% attack
New analysis has revealed the recent Ethereum Classic attack was far from a glitch, enabling a double spend attack worth millions.
In brief
Analysis from Bitquery has revealed the recent Etherum Classic 51% exploit was not a mistake, but an attack.
The malicious miner was able to double spend more than 800,000 ETC worth more than $5 million.
The attacker spent less than $200,000 on buying hash power for the attack.
The recent Ethereum Classic 51% attack was far from an innocent mistake as some initially suspected, netting the attacker more than $5 million in stolen funds. What's more, the hacker only spent $200,000 to do it.
Bitquery, a blockchain data intelligence firm, released analysis today breaking down the steps the attacker took to pull off the 51% attack against the Ethereum Classic blockchain over the weekend.
Those steps reveal careful planning and an intimate knowledge of the Ethereum Classic blockchain architecture, allowing the multi-million dollar exploit to be completed without immediately alerting blockchain watchers and requiring several days to be uncovered.