51 Percent Attack Cost

The 51 percent attack cost is the estimated economic expenditure required for a malicious actor to acquire enough hashrate to control the majority of a blockchain network's mining power. By controlling the majority, an attacker could potentially reverse transactions, double-spend coins, or censor specific activities, undermining the trust and security of the ledger.

The cost of such an attack is typically calculated by considering the price of renting hashrate from marketplaces or the cost of purchasing and powering the necessary hardware. As a network grows in hashrate and security, the cost of an attack increases, making it economically irrational to attempt.

This cost is a fundamental metric for assessing the systemic security and resilience of a decentralized protocol against adversarial influence.