Monero Price Defies Odds Despite Persisent Reorg Attacks

Key Takeaways

• Privacy coin Monero suffered its deepest reorganization yet on September 14
• In the wake of a 51% attack on the network last month, many are questioning the safety of transacting on the Monero network
• Despite security concerns, Monero price reacted favorably, posting 7% gains in 24 hours

Crypto’s most popular privacy coin, Monero, found itself under fire again on September 14. Hot on the heels of a 51% attack on the network on August 12, XMR brushed off a fresh wave of reorg attacks (network events that would spell disaster for most blockchains). Despite the attack, the Monero price not only stood resilient, but posted 24-hour gains of 7% at the time of writing.

The Monero Network Under Attack Again

After an unexpected 51% attack on the network last month, the Monero blockchain suffered its deepest reorganization yet on September 14. An 18-block-deep reorg hit the chain, wiping out 118 previously confirmed transactions and rewriting over 36 minutes of network history.

The incident started at block 3499659 and concluded at 3499676. It wasn’t just a technical mishap: Qubic, an AI-focused blockchain project, drove the attack with control of more than 35% of the Monero network’s hashrate, sparking widespread concern about centralization and security.

The pain didn’t stop at lost transactions. Over the last 720 blocks (roughly 24 hours), 213 blocks were orphaned, according to on-chain data. That’s almost 30% of all blocks, an abnormal rate for any proof-of-work cryptocurrency.

Pools like monero.hashvault.pro and supportxmr.com were outpaced by Qubic’s rapid mining, while smaller pools watched their work discarded.

The Debate: Is Monero Safe?

This isn’t Monero’s first run-in with dangerous network instability. Last month’s reorg attacks prompted participants like Kraken, one of the biggest crypto exchanges, to suspend XMR deposits entirely for a time, citing double-spend vulnerability and client safety concerns.

If demand and prices dwindle, decentralized proof-of-work (PoW) coins are increasingly at risk of centralization and attack, and the Monero community is understandably nervous. One prominent user summed up what many more are feeling:

“Personally, I don’t consider the Monero network reliable at this point. I’ll stop accepting XMR for payments until this situation is resolved.”

For those still willing to accept Monero payments, analysts recommend waiting for at least 20 confirmations per transaction, not the usual 10. This cautious approach is also echoed by researchers and node operators.

Traditionally, a few block reorganizations can happen naturally on proof-of-work chains without major risk. But an 18-block reorg shows abnormal concentration of mining power and opens the door for double-spend attempts where attackers could effectively invalidate payments even after confirmation.

Monero’s RandomX algorithm is supposed to protect decentralization, but Qubic’s dominance and miner swings have exposed real vulnerabilities in practice (again).

With Monero coming under fire once more so quickly after the last major attack, it’s time for the Monero community to take its network security more seriously.

Network Solutions and Tough Choices Ahead

Monero’s developer community is scrambling for fixes. Some ideas include DNS checkpointing (a way to centralize block verification in emergencies) or radical changes to mining rules, like merge mining with Bitcoin.

Merge mining Monero with Bitcoin would allocate a portion of the mining subsidy specifically to ASIC miners to bolster network security. Yet every option risks damaging Monero’s core identity as a decentralized privacy coin and introduces new types of trade-offs.

For now, the Monero price remains surprisingly strong despite the chaos. Rather than suffer the expected fallout that would typically follow such an incident, XMR climbed by 7%.

The price stability was interpreted by some as a sign of faith in the project and its long history of survival, while others warn of deeper problems under the surface. Wise Advice Summit commented:

“Yet XMR is +5% today, no panic.”

Surprising gains in Monero price aside, the truth is, Monero can’t afford to ignore these attacks much longer. Until a lasting technical solution appears, users, merchants, and exchanges will have to weigh risk versus reward every time XMR changes hands.