Dash Introduces Solution Against "51% Attacks"

Founder and CEO of the Dash Foundation, Ryan TAYLOR spoke about the new protocol called Chainlocks recently in an interview with Bloxlive.tv. According to him, the protocol can protect the Dash blockchain from the “51% attack”.

As you know, one of the biggest risks for a blockchain using Proof-of-Work consensus is the “51% attack”: if a subject controls more than half of the mining power of the network, he can effectively reorganize the blockchain at his own discretion. Bitcoin (BTC) and other large networks are relatively safe, since the cost of controlling more than half of the mining capacity is likely to outweigh the potential profit. However, small crypto networks are more vulnerable to this type of attack. Because of this, the Dash team has taken steps to ensure that there will be no risk at all.

The new Chainlocks protocol makes use of Long-Living Masternode Quorums (LLMQ), which effectively make up an additional 'checkpoint' layer that validates blocks after they are mined much faster than previously possible. For each block, a quora of 400 randomly-chosen nodes has to vote on whether a block is valid, and 60% approval is needed for it to be added to the chain. This validation process, which can take up to an hour with BTC, can now happen in mere seconds. According to Taylor, that makes Dash, probably, the most secure cryptocurrency, even more so than Bitcoin.

Image courtesy of Dashnews.org