The world of cryptocurrencies is a vast and complex one. It can be intimidating to newcomers with its jargon-filled conversations, endless exchanges and tokens, and the constant need to update software. And that's without even mentioning blockchain!
If you're looking to start dabbling in crypto or simply want to understand the basics better, then read on for our comprehensive guide to the most common terms.
51% attack: A hypothetical situation where more than half of the computing power on a blockchain network is controlled by one person or group, thus allowing them to dictate which transactions are verified. This would allow them to prevent other users from completing confirmed transactions and cause havoc within the system, and double-spend coins.
51% attack protection: A protection mechanism implemented by several cryptocurrencies that require more than 50% of their total hashing power working together as one entity (which would make it difficult for attackers since they'd need even more resources and time) or if this threshold is below 100%, having an additional safeguard feature where at least 66% must agree with every transaction before sending, making them unable to double-spend anything without others noticing until these changes are made on the chain permanently.
