Software upgraded by Dash to prohibit 51% attacks

Dash has finally upgraded its network for the much awaited “anti-51 percent attack”,  marking “one of the most important updates” in its five-year history. They announced today that the Dash Core v0.14.0 software upgrade has officially gone live on its mainnet. Dash Core Group COO Robert Wicko stated that the upgrade is focused to tackle the 51% attacks which will also provide near-instant transaction times.

A 51% attack, though rare, is a highly dangerous situation. It happens when a single party controls over half of the total mining power. The attacker can easily manipulate the ledger, and steal the tokens using the computing power under his control. The upgrade would make it the first proof-of-work blockchain immune to such attacks.

The company will require the enforcement of two new features: Long Living Masternode Quorums (LLMQs) and ChainLocks. These features prevent chain reorganization and selfish mining, ensuring that nobody can rewrite the Dash blockchain unless they can control a certain number of masternodes.

Ryan Taylor, CEO of Dash Core Group, called the upgrade a “major moment” for Dash:

“In addition to bolstering our network security via ChainLocks—making our network the first Proof of Work blockchain to essentially eliminate the threat of a 51% attack—the official introduction of LLMQs opens up a whole new world of potential use cases for Dash beyond payments.”