It appears the latest attempts to attack the BSV network through wholesale reorganizations have agitated billionaire and philanthropist Calvin Ayre to the point that he is personally funding a bounty program in order to identify the malicious attacker. Ayre, who is also a known BSV supporter and founder of blockchain conglomerate CoinGeek, is offering a substantial reward for information about the failed series of block reorganization attacks through the CoinGeek Crime Bounty Program.
The multi-million dollar bounty program was launched on August 6, 2021, just a day after the third and final attack on the BSV network was successfully repelled by the BSV infrastructure team. The series of BSV attacks, which began on August 4, is the second in less than a month. The first round of attacks began on June 24 and ended on July 9, which included a total of four block reorganizations of a malicious nature. The unknown miner by the handle "Zulupool" is believed to be the individual or group responsible for both sets of attacks.
“In general, when two versions of the same blocks are mined, the longer chain is the one accepted by the system. Therefore, if an attacker can collect enough hash power, they can create a chain at a faster rate than their honest counterparts, which will also make it the longest. When the fraudulent chain is triggered, the chain can be accepted, albeit briefly, as legitimate, as well as double-spend transactions,” wrote Kurt Wuckert Jr., Bitcoin Chief Historian, to explain what exactly happens when of an attack and why the attacks were doomed.
The malicious attacker can then use the small window when the fraudulent chain has been accepted by the blockchain to deposit the duplicate spent BSV coins with an exchange and exchange them for fiat currency, a different digital currency or any type of legitimate asset . Basically, this is just a sophisticated way of stealing, which is why these types of attacks are criminal in nature. But thanks to the efficiency of the BSV network detection tools and the immediate response of the BSV infrastructure team, all these attacks were successfully thwarted and no BSV coins were spent twice.
“As the Bitcoin Whitepaper makes it clear that invalid blocks are rejected by the system and invalid blocks are those containing invalid transactions, such as double spend. As also assumed in the whitepaper, node operators are able and willing to consider the fraudulent chain invalid and have every reason to run the invalidateblock command issued by the Bitcoin SV camp. When they do, the double spend ceases to be part of the blockchain,” Wuckert explained.
The way the second batch of BSV attacks happened so soon after the first – when the network is alert and ready to fight attacks again – has people wondering about the motives behind the reorganizations malicious blocks. If the goal was not to double BSV coin spend, could the attacks have been unleashed by rival networks aiming to damage the reputation of BSV which is continuously evolving to increase the efficiency and usefulness of its blockchain? Whatever the motive, Ayre is determined to get to the bottom of it.
But Ayre is keen to clarify that the CoinGeek Crime Bounty program will not cease to exist once the perpetrator has been identified and apprehended. This is a long-term program that is part of efforts to create a more secure, safe, and legal cryptocurrency industry. “Crypto-anarchists may bristle at such restrictions, but regulation is the industry’s only sure path to long-term sustainability. »
Anyone with information related to BSV attacks can submit their advice here, just select the "Report a crime" option in the form. Rewards will be negotiated based on how useful it is and how it "materially leads to convictions for crimes committed in the BSV ecosystem".
