Monero Faces Questions After Qubic Gains Temporary Network Control

Monero has long been recognized as one of the leading privacy-focused cryptocurrencies. But on August 11, the network faced an unusual event when Qubic, a newer blockchain project, briefly claimed more than 51 percent of Monero’s total mining power. The incident has left many wondering whether it was a true attack or simply an expensive demonstration.

Good to know

• A 51 percent attack means a single group controls enough mining power to alter blockchain activity.
• Monero is valued at over $6 billion, while Qubic’s market cap sits closer to $300 million.
• The event was tied to Qubic’s “Useful Proof of Work,” which differs from traditional mining.

How Qubic Pulled It Off

Qubic promotes itself as a network that doesn’t waste energy on simple mining. Instead, it directs computing power toward tasks like artificial intelligence. Its model, called Useful Proof of Work, aims to run decentralized AI systems while handling millions of transactions per second.

For the Monero network, Qubic redirected huge amounts of its mining resources, attracting miners away from standard pools. At one point, Qubic’s developers claimed they held control of more than half of Monero’s hash rate. With that much power, they were able to reorganize six blocks, meaning previously confirmed transactions were overwritten.

A Digital Tug-of-War

Reaching that point was not simple. Qubic’s attempt to capture a majority faced resistance. As it tried to gain ground, the project was hit with a week-long DDoS attack that knocked some connected services offline. Still, its mining pool kept going.

On August 11, Qubic switched to a strategy known as Selfish Mining. In this method, blocks are mined secretly and released later, creating a wave of orphan blocks in Monero’s chain. The tactic worked. Out of 122 blocks mined during that period, 63 were won by Qubic — comfortably above the 51 percent threshold.

Despite proving it could dominate, the team stopped short of taking full control. According to Qubic, doing so could have harmed Monero’s price. Independent specialists are now reviewing the numbers to confirm the extent of the takeover.

What It Means for Monero Users

For the average Monero holder, transactions continue as usual. The privacy features and speed remain intact. But the event showed that even a large network is vulnerable if miners shift to follow higher rewards elsewhere.

Qubic insists it wasn’t trying to damage Monero. Instead, it framed the episode as proof that its model works. The team argues that if Monero’s security eventually relies on Qubic miners, the ecosystem could create new revenue streams without undermining user privacy.

Different Views on the Event

Some in the crypto community question whether this was truly a successful 51 percent attack. A few developers argue Qubic may have just been unusually lucky in mining blocks. Others acknowledge that the strategy likely worked, but note the financial gain was limited compared to the costs.

Even so, the moment felt like a David-versus-Goliath story. A project with a fraction of Monero’s valuation managed to briefly dominate a network worth billions.

Lessons Going Forward

From Qubic’s perspective, three lessons came out of the experiment:

1. Computing power can be used for more than just blockchain verification.
2. Miners will always move where the rewards are strongest.
3. Decentralized systems can absorb even heavy attacks without fully collapsing.

Monero still functions as the go-to privacy coin, but the debate sparked by Qubic has raised a new question: how safe is a network when smaller projects with enough incentives can temporarily tip the balance?