The leading privacy coin prepares protocol updates to stop Qubic Pool disrupting the blockchain.
An acute issue Monero is experiencing is that the deeply dominant Qubic Pool holding approximately 33% of network hashrate, is deeply dominant. This regulation encourages self-serving mining attacks, which compromise blockchain security and fairness.
To this, the Monero developers come together through Publish or Perish proposals to address these threats and regain trust.
Could ‘Publish or Perish’ End Selfish Mining for Good?
The Publish or Perish proposal is designed to rebuke miners who slack block broadcasts and eradicate selfish mining.
The fix, developed by Tevador, is divided into two: the soft fork and the hard fork. The soft fork imposes penalties that are based on concealed blocks that are disclosed after they are too late.
Reward Splitting is a game-changing mechanism that is added to the hard fork. In this case, orphaned and yet valid blocks are partially rewarded.
This prevents selfish miners from taking the full reward of a block unless they unrealistically surpass the network. This new model of payout may make Qubic Pool significantly powerless.
These steps were well supported by the community, as can be seen in the open meeting of Monero Research Lab on August 29.
Others recommended a switch to a hybrid proof-of-stake, though the majority of developers would like to reinforce proof-of-work and deal with selfish mining directly.
Developer ACK-J excoriated PoS options as preferring early adopters and termed it insane.
Price Dips but Privacy Interest Hits New Highs
Since July, the XMR token price has fallen almost 20 percent and is now trading at less than $260, only because of hung below the 50-day EMA.
Nevertheless, the recent searches for privacy coins have increased to all-time highs, indicating a rising interest among the population and a need to have confidential online transactions.
Dan Dadybayo of Unstoppable Wallet stressed the importance of the security of Monero, which relies not only on complete privacy but on fairness in mining.
One pool holding a third of the hashrate, he said, risks fairness collapsing. Publish or perish and reward splitting are two major defenses that can be used.
In the case of the fixed adoption, Monero might stabilize and investor trust quickly. The inability to act can gradually undermine its status as the number one privacy coin.
