Can Somebody Hack or Shutdown Bitcoin

Are you wondering if someone can hack or shut down Bitcoin? Here is a guide on why it is difficult for someone to hack or shut down this digital asset.

Bitcoin is a completely decentralized digital currency, lacking a regulatory body such as a financial institution or the government to regulate its operations. Therefore this digital money faces a lot of criticism, with some claiming it is not a safe asset and is prone to attack. However, within the thirteen years that this virtual asset has been around, this virtual asset has proved to be a profitable and secure investment. Bitcoin has also proven to be one of the most reliable financial systems. Moreover, this electronic currency has an underlying technology known as the blockchain. The blockchain is economically and technically prone to corruption.

On the other hand, as with any technology, this virtual asset is perfect, with a few minor threats coming up from time to time. Eventually, there are security concerns that threaten this virtual asset.

Is Bitcoin Hack-Proof?

Many people consider this electronic asset hackproof because blockchain technology is publicly distributed and can be reviewed and viewed by everyone on the network. What's more, it is pretty challenging to alter the blockchain network since any change has to be approved by 51% of the network users. Therefore, attacks on the blockchain are not so common.

Miners must solve complex mathematical equations when adding a new block to the blockchain network. What's more, these complex mathematical equations' creation entails using cryptographic hash functions of this virtual asset. Adding a new block to the blockchain requires various nodes to agree that it has not violated the rules and get validated. Therefore, if all the nodes on the network agree, a new block is added to this virtual asset ledger. There are also exchanges like biticodes that have strict security measures and are hackproof.

It is pretty difficult to manipulate the blockchain network because it is challenging to double-spend this electronic money. Erasing a block of already spent digital currency is known as double spending, which is impossible due to how decentralized this virtual asset is in nature. Also, Bitcoin uses a lot of energy to mine a new block. Hence, making double spending impossible.

51% Attacks

A 51% attack can happen on the Bitcoin network. Therefore, it's a concern regarding the security of this virtual asset since it could result in a double spend. In other words, a 51% attack is an attempt by this digital asset miner or a group of miners to replace or interfere with past Bitcoin blocks. If groups of miners or a single miner succeed in altering past Bitcoin blocks, they end up invalidating transactions that were previously settled and therefore stole this digital money. In other words, to successfully conduct a 51% attack, the hacker has to control at least 51% of the Bitcoin network, which amounts to more computing power than the other networks. In addition, to conduct a 51% attack, the hacker will require a lot of energy, money, and expensive hardware.

Can Bitcoin Get Shut Down?

Despite hackers attempting the 51% attacks, they have never succeeded, and also, this digital money network has never been turned off, even for a short period. Nevertheless, some governments, such as China, have banned this virtual currency, but its popularity has continued to grow.

However, a global power outage could affect this digital money network because mining Bitcoin requires a lot of energy. Due to the power outage, some nodes on the blockchain may not contact each other.

The Bottom Line

Despite the many challenges the Bitcoin network has faced, this digital asset has withstood them all, proving that it is here to stay. Bitcoin's decentralized nature makes it difficult to shut down. Nevertheless, hacks can happen on crypto exchanges. Therefore, Bitcoin users should choose their crypto trading platforms wisely when buying or selling this virtual currency.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.