2013-06-11 The 51% Attack – What Bitcoin Can Learn From Alt-coin Experiments

[bb999]

http://www.thegenesisblock.com/the-51-attack-what-bitcoin-can-learn-from-alt-coin-experiments/

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[Stephen Gornick]

Btc-e, one of the largest BTC/FTC exchanges, increased the confirmation requirement to 100 blocks (over 4 hours) completely countering Feathercoin’s quick confirmation advantage.

This is why I'll tell anyone who will listen that keeping funds (any funds, Bitcoin, Litecoin, etc.) on an exchange that also deals with a currency other than Bitcoin is taking a big risk.

Your Bitcoins Are Not Safe At Alt-coin Exchanges
 - http://www.bitcoinmoney.com/post/6231627

[n8rwJeTt8TrrLKPa55eU]

Btc-e, one of the largest BTC/FTC exchanges, increased the confirmation requirement to 100 blocks (over 4 hours) completely countering Feathercoin’s quick confirmation advantage.

This is why I'll tell anyone who will listen that keeping funds (any funds, Bitcoin, Litecoin, etc.) on an exchange that also deals with a currency other than Bitcoin is taking a big risk.

Your Bitcoins Are Not Safe At Alt-coin Exchanges
 - http://www.bitcoinmoney.com/post/6231627

Yep, and I'd generalize that insightful article and your statement even further: BTC are not safe anywhere whose private keys you don't control.  Ultimately, the "altcoin attack" is just one risk among a potentially infinite list of catastrophes involving exchanges and hosted wallets, be they BTC-only or multicoin.  Mirroring goldbug wisdom: if you don't hold your BTC, you don't own your BTC.

[kiba]

DATE NEED FIXING!

[bb999]

DATE NEED FIXING!

What needs fixing about it?

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

DATE NEED FIXING!

What needs fixing about it?

2013-06-11, not 2013-6-11

[DublinBrian]

This is why I'll tell anyone who will listen that keeping funds (any funds, Bitcoin, Litecoin, etc.) on an exchange that also deals with a currency other than Bitcoin is taking a big risk.

Your Bitcoins Are Not Safe At Alt-coin Exchanges
 - http://www.bitcoinmoney.com/post/6231627

Thats a really good point. Thanks for that article.

[Endgame]

Interesting article. The thing I find most surprising about this attack is that far from killing the coin, it seems to have helped it. Both price and hashrate are way up. So perhaps a 51% attack isn't always as destructive as people think.