Is it possible to crack bitcoin?

Is it possible to crack bitcoin?

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In news dedicated to crypto-currencies and exchanges, you can see headlines more often about how hackers abduct users' funds, crack wallets and devastate exchanges. Many users are afraid that the same can be done with the leading currency - bitcoin. Although for more than nine years no hacking hacking of the network has been committed, which would cause a critical collapse of the entire currency. Nevertheless, there are threats, and it is naive to assume that such attacks will never be committed.

Now analysts identify several major types of threats that can disrupt the operation of the entire system. The first is "51% attack". This means gaining control over the underlying chains of the platform. If someone can capture 51% of the system, then he can control almost the entire network. As a result, you can quickly block any account and transaction, create transfers that conflict with others, crack open wallets, and steal coins.

Is such an attack possible? Yes, but that's why the developers use the PoW algorithm, which makes currency mining a very expensive affair. To put fifty one percent of the network under control, you need to invest at least $ 5 billion in equipment for mining and spend about eight million on electricity per day. While such capacities are not present at one hacker grouping, therefore for now to make such an attack it is not possible.

The next kind of threat is private keys hacking. Hackers have already made attempts to hack them, but they have not been successful. The fact is that the hash algorithm used to work with private keys has an irreversibility function. To calculate the private key will have to deal with each option. And their number exceeds already 1077 with a lot of branches for everyone. Therefore, to find the option that will allow you to crack the key is impossible, since there is not enough capacity of supercomputers of the current generation.

However, it should be noted that the development of quantum computers can radically change the situation. As you know, their abilities and power differ from modern computers, and further research in the field of artificial intelligence can change everything. And perhaps in a few years bitcoin will be attacked by capable of bringing down structure. Programmers have now to deal with the development of security protocols with an eye to this development of events. What will happen next time will tell.