GHash.IO and double-spending against BetCoin Dice

[Come-from-Beyond]

Maybe you can help me.  I don't get why selfish mining is a problem.  To me it seems like a miner is getting a head start on the next block at the risk of losing the current block.

If this is unethical (and I'm not sure it is), it is only unethical toward other miners.  It doesn't disturb the functionality of Bitcoin from a user's perspective.

It lowers "51% attack" threshold to 33%.

[1714890197]

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[1714890197]

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[Jcw188]

so GHash owner actually attempted a double spend and is showing no worries about the fact that they are approaching 51%?  What a selfish, and stupid, person.  Although as a previous poster mentioned, maybe they don't care if they ruin BTC by going 51%.

[TH3xR34P3R]

The possibility of this happening was known since the very beginning so why are you all freaking out now when it's too late? No central bank you say? The entity with the most computing power is the central bank. Will be interesting what happens now.

I'm not.

First time was when BTCguild started hitting 50-51% then locked people from signing up in response till it evened out again; second was the feathercoin hit that showed exactly what could happen, never a matter of if, but when and how we respond to avoid it in the future.

[Balthazar]

so GHash owner actually attempted a double spend and is showing no worries about the fact that they are approaching 51%?  What a selfish, and stupid, person.  Although as a previous poster mentioned, maybe they don't care if they ruin BTC by going 51%.

IQ approximation is possible.

IQ = 120/ (THashPS^(1/7))

[itod]

so GHash owner actually attempted a double spend and is showing no worries about the fact that they are approaching 51%?  What a selfish, and stupid, person.  Although as a previous poster mentioned, maybe they don't care if they ruin BTC by going 51%.

Yes, man owning the world biggest mining pool is stupid?!? And, yes, he doesn't care if he ruins his bread & butter business - Bitcoin?!?

I'm not fan of what is happening (single pool reaching close to 51%), but please think twice before writing such a stupid things. If GHash.IO tries to double spend it practically means the end of their primary source of income. Nobody is that stupid. It's not nice to be in somebodys mercy, but this situation is far from critical. Everyone who is aware of what is happening will switch pools if he can, and in a month there would be much more GHs deployed which can reduce their percentage easily. Bitcoin was in much worse trouble before, remember?

[Come-from-Beyond]

Yes, man owning the world biggest mining pool is stupid?!? And, yes, he doesn't care if he ruins his bread & butter business - Bitcoin?!?

Who said they r not hired by an ABC agency?

[itod]

Yes, man owning the world biggest mining pool is stupid?!? And, yes, he doesn't care if he ruins his bread & butter business - Bitcoin?!?

Who said they r not hired by an ABC agency?

Trolling or serious?

[Come-from-Beyond]

Trolling or serious?

Just show a possible explanation.

[Gabi]

Yes, man owning the world biggest mining pool is stupid?!? And, yes, he doesn't care if he ruins his bread & butter business - Bitcoin?!?

Who said they r not hired by an ABC agency?

Trolling or serious?

Actually it is a very possible situation.

[itod]

Yes, man owning the world biggest mining pool is stupid?!? And, yes, he doesn't care if he ruins his bread & butter business - Bitcoin?!?

Who said they r not hired by an ABC agency?

Trolling or serious?

Actually it is a very possible situation.

When two hero members seriously consider this as a possibility it's time for me to shut up.

[Gabi]

Well i have to say that if it is true then they would disguise their blocks so it does not look like they are making them and are having such a high % of the total hashrate.

[Come-from-Beyond]

Well i have to say that if it is true then they would disguise their blocks so it does not look like they are making them and are having such a high % of the total hashrate.

We shouldn't trust to blockchain.info stats also...

[Jcw188]

so GHash owner actually attempted a double spend and is showing no worries about the fact that they are approaching 51%?  What a selfish, and stupid, person.  Although as a previous poster mentioned, maybe they don't care if they ruin BTC by going 51%.

Yes, man owning the world biggest mining pool is stupid?!? And, yes, he doesn't care if he ruins his bread & butter business - Bitcoin?!?

I'm not fan of what is happening (single pool reaching close to 51%), but please think twice before writing such a stupid things. If GHash.IO tries to double spend it practically means the end of their primary source of income. Nobody is that stupid. It's not nice to be in somebodys mercy, but this situation is far from critical. Everyone who is aware of what is happening will switch pools if he can, and in a month there would be much more GHs deployed which can reduce their percentage easily. Bitcoin was in much worse trouble before, remember?

SOmeone above laid out a VERY possible explanation of why they might do this, and someone above has now added another possible explanation.  So it's not "such stupid things."  And there is evidence they tried to double spend!  so...I stand by my post.  I mean where is the owner to at least say "don't worry"?

[Gabi]

Bitcoin exists exactly because we cannot trust no one. That's why it exists and why it was made how it is made. We must suppose that any vulnerability will be exploited eventually. People can be corrupted.

[cryptoluvr]

CEX.io admin in chat specified that as the 51% network dominance was reached they will announce we will be able to point our contracts at any pool. Now weather they mean any BITCOIN POOL or any SHA-256 is still unknown.

I firmly believe a money making venture will not shoot themselves in the face by destroying the network marketplace in which they are profiting and succeeding. There is no gain in destroying bitcoin now, unless they have some "counter agenda" that is as hilarious as hollywood or obamacare.

They are not a government, entertainment producer nor 'BigPharma.'

Just my 2 mbits.

[NewLiberty]

CEX.io admin in chat specified that as the 51% network dominance was reached they will announce we will be able to point our contracts at any pool. Now weather they mean any BITCOIN POOL or any SHA-256 is still unknown.

I firmly believe a money making venture will not shoot themselves in the face by destroying the network marketplace in which they are profiting and succeeding. There is no gain in destroying bitcoin now, unless they have some "counter agenda" that is as hilarious as hollywood or obamacare.

They are not a government, entertainment producer nor 'BigPharma.'

Just my 2 mbits.

Consider how this may not really be any better after all.

Having >50% of the hash power and pointing it to other pools simply means that they can point it back at will.  Worse still they can in fact entice others to join ghash.io by artificially reducing their percentage by switching some to other pools and then switch back again anytime some shenanigans suits them.

By selling contracts, they have garnered this control.

The decentralized trustless network is becoming centralized and is now requiring trust.  The erosion of some of the core merits of the bitcoin protocol is a serious matter.  It is astounding that a summary report of an "internal investigation" is considered authoritative and exculpatory.
It merely stated that "it was the old guys, not us" and gave no new transparency or plan to change anything, no new controls implemented.

Miners, take a look at what you are doing and how, please.  We are in your hands.

[NewLiberty]

CEX.io admin in chat specified that as the 51% network dominance was reached they will announce we will be able to point our contracts at any pool. Now weather they mean any BITCOIN POOL or any SHA-256 is still unknown.

I firmly believe a money making venture will not shoot themselves in the face by destroying the network marketplace in which they are profiting and succeeding. There is no gain in destroying bitcoin now, unless they have some "counter agenda" that is as hilarious as hollywood or obamacare.

They are not a government, entertainment producer nor 'BigPharma.'

Just my 2 mbits.

Imagine they are as you say, just doing it for the money.

How much money would be made if they sold all their BTC, then performed some horrible acts destroying confidence in Bitcoin, then bought back in cheap, disbanded their pool and started again with new names, more money and experience?

The point is not to rely on their honesty, the point is to not require it.

[slfmde]

https://ghash.io/ghashio_press_release.pdf

[FreedomCoin]

Unfortunately this is an issue that has been brought on partially by ASIC mining, as less actual devices mining with alot more hashing power means less diversity.

[NewLiberty]

https://ghash.io/ghashio_press_release.pdf

These are good words, good action should follow swiftly.

They will continue to maintain control over the control of contract owners' ability to switch pools... and the visibility into whether it is in fact happening.