Buterin helps strategize against 51% Ethereum attack possibility



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Ethereum developers recently proposed a network switch called EIP-1559 – a proposal intended to combat rising network transaction fees. Set to go into effect in July of this year, the move would send a portion of each transaction fee to the Ethereum network itself. The ether thus allocated would then be burnt, reducing the number of coins in circulation.

This change would also reduce the amount of rewards given to network miners, leading some to protest against this decision. A vocal group of attendees has since begun to advocate for a demonstrative network takeover, which could threaten network security. The group, however, apparently has no plans to topple Ethereum, insisting it only wants to show the viability of such an attack. Buterin and other Ethereum developers have since responded by planning defensive efforts.

“The purpose of this document is to describe a mechanism by which a merge can occur quickly, with little change for ethpow or beacon clients,” Buterin said. This move would essentially move the network to Ethereum 2.0 faster than expected.

“Like clockwork, the Ethereum community quickly organized potential solutions to this possible 51% attack, with Vitalik in the lead,” a Status blog post on March 12 said, pointing to the framework written by Buterin. “Vitalik describes how Ethereum can perform a ‘quick merge’ by moving quickly from proof of work to proof of stake with limited changes required for Ethereum customers,” the post said.

A miner known as “Bits Be Trippin” commented on a March 9 YouTube video: “Part of the risk display here isn’t attacking the network, it’s showing that force projection is possible. ”

Ethereum 2.0 is a scale-up effort that aims to move the network from Proof of Work, or PoW, to Proof of Stake Mining Consensus, or PoS, an effort that has been underway for years.

Buterin’s recently proposed framework would accelerate the network’s mining consensus transition, choosing to resolve issues and system details after the fact, the status post detailed. The merger could pave the way for more fluid development on Ethereum 2.0, according to the Buterin article and editorial staff.

The Status blog noted that the opposition group EIP-1559 already technically had enough power to carry out its 51% attack, based on the group’s webpage at the time of the blog’s publication.

The Ethereum network has seen many important developments in the areas of decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens over the past year. However, as the number of platforms and assets running on the Ethereum network has increased, so has the network transaction costs.

Ethereum launched Eth2 in December 2020, with the launch of its beacon chain.