Monero hashrate tug-of-war eases as Qubic loses 51% dominance

An attempted power grab has tested the decentralisation of one of crypto’s most private blockchains. And it may not be over yet.

Qubic, a mining pool tied to IOTA co-founder Sergey Ivancheglo, no longer holds a majority of the hashrate on the Monero network after briefly surpassing the critical 51% threshold earlier this week.

The decline marks a temporary easing in what has become an escalating contest over the future of Monero’s network control.

According to data from MiningPoolStats, Qubic’s share has since dropped to just over 35%.

The episode prompted crypto exchange Kraken to pause XMR deposits on Friday “as a security precaution,” citing concerns over a single mining pool controlling more than half of the network’s computing power.

The company said it would resume deposits “once we determine it is safe to do so.” At the time of publication, Monero deposits were still closed. A request for comment from Kraken was not immediately returned.

A test of decentralisation

Qubic has framed its campaign as a deliberate test of Monero’s resilience, declaring that its UPoW model had proven the viability of outsourced computations and demonstrated how economic incentives can override decentralisation.

According to its mission statement, the pool’s goal is to secure the protocol long term and reroute Monero block rewards through its own infrastructure.

“The end goal is for the Monero protocol’s security to be provided by Qubic’s miners,” the group stated, arguing that the event “rewrote the rules of blockchain competition” by showing how a smaller protocol could dominate a larger one through incentives.

Prior attacks

This week’s surge in hashrate wasn’t Qubic’s first attempt.

Starting from just 2% in May, the pool’s mining power climbed to around 45% by July before it faced coordinated pushback from the Monero community, forcing its share back down to around 10%.

Analysts at the time warned that the episode highlighted the network’s relatively weak security budget and susceptibility to future dominance attempts.

Critics of Qubic have dismissed the takeover as a self-serving marketing stunt, especially after the pool’s token surged during the event.

But others remain wary of dismissing the risks too soon. Ivancheglo has made it clear that the move wasn’t temporary or symbolic.

Kyle Baird is DL News’ Weekend Editor. Got a tip? Email at kbaird@dlnews.com.