Due to the nature of the technology, and the high-end devices needed to mine cryptocurrency, there’s the problem of large, well-funded groups using vast resources to take over a cryptocurrency. Vertcoin is aware of this and actively seeks to prevent the centralization of itself. However, despite such noble aims, and it being a smaller currency, it still came under attack—and it’s not the first time.
Thankfully, the attack was caught early and prevented before too much damage could be done. A previous attack was much more “successful,” managing to cause an estimated $100,000 in damages to users. This time it was under $50 before it was caught.
But that’s not the biggest concern. There’s no news yet as to why this happened—or what the point of it was. The effort to reward ratio isn’t logical. It’s all speculation at this point as to why it might have happened, but it could be a practice attack for a larger one in the upcoming future. Though the blockchain is a very effective bit of cybersecurity, there are always new ways for bad actors to be aggressive, and this proves the need for continuous innovation and prevention if we want a fully digital currency to see widespread use.
