Monero (XMR) Plummets 15%: Qubic’s Shocking Network Takeover Rattles Privacy Coin Market

Privacy just got more expensive—Monero (XMR) nosedives as Qubic muscles in.

Qubic's power play triggers XMR sell-off.

The so-called 'Swiss bank account of crypto' bleeds value after Qubic claims operational control—because nothing says decentralization like a hostile takeover. Traders panic-dump while the usual crypto bros insist 'it's just a correction.' Meanwhile, Wall Street snickers into its overpriced coffee.

When privacy coins flinch, the whole dark market watches. Will Monero recover, or is this the start of a privacy purge? Either way, the SEC's probably taking notes—between golf swings.

TLDR

• Qubic claims to control over 51% of Monero’s hashrate, potentially enabling chain reorganizations and transaction censorship
• Monero (XMR) price dropped 6% in 24 hours and over 15% for the week as traders react to the network threat
• Qubic uses a “useful proof-of-work” system that converts mining rewards to USDT to buy and burn QUBIC tokens
• The attack leverages economic incentives rather than malicious intent, drawing miners with higher payouts
• Monero network shows 60 orphaned blocks in recent activity, indicating blockchain instability

Monero faces its most serious security challenge as Qubic project claims majority control of the network’s mining power.

The privacy-focused cryptocurrency Monero is experiencing major turbulence after rival blockchain project Qubic announced it has gained control over 51% of the network’s hashrate. This development has sent XMR prices tumbling and raised questions about the network’s long-term security.

Qubic just reached 51% share of Monero. This is a huge feat. They will be the first to manipulate a cryptocurrency with a 51% attack. They intend to orphan all blocks from every other miner, making themselves the only mining entity of Monero. The only way to mine Monero will be… pic.twitter.com/rIihj5CtPo

— Caffeinated User | ꓘ & ױ (@CaffeinatedUser) August 11, 2025

Qubic, led by IOTA co-founder Sergey Ivancheglo, says its takeover represents a strategic experiment rather than a malicious attack. The project describes its approach as a “combative application of game theory” designed to test economic incentives in proof-of-work mining.

Qubic has reached over 51% of Monero's hashrate, effectively giving it control of the network.

Qubic chose not to launch the takeover yet, proving a powerful theory by action.

But this story isn’t over yet. What's next for Qubic and the future of PoW chains?

Article below⏬ pic.twitter.com/JqQNqpy95j

— Qubic (@_Qubic_) August 12, 2025

The price impact has been immediate and severe. XMR currently trades at $252, representing a 6% decline over the past 24 hours. Weekly losses have reached over 15%, pushing the privacy coin to its lowest levels since May.

Trading volume has surged as investors exit their positions. The selloff contrasts sharply with other privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, which have maintained stability or posted gains during the same period.

Understanding the 51% Attack Threat

A 51% attack occurs when a single entity controls more than half of a blockchain network’s total computing power. This level of control enables several potentially damaging capabilities.

The attacker can reorganize the blockchain by replacing previously confirmed blocks with new ones. They can also attempt double-spend attacks, essentially sending the same tokens twice to different recipients.

For Monero specifically, the most concerning aspect involves transaction censorship. The attacker could block certain payments from being confirmed, undermining the network’s Core privacy mission.

These attacks have precedent in the cryptocurrency space. Ethereum Classic suffered multiple incidents in 2020, costing millions of dollars. Bitcoin Gold faced similar attacks in 2018 and 2020.

Monero uses the RandomX algorithm specifically to prevent such centralization. The system discourages specialized mining hardware and favors CPU mining to maintain decentralization. This makes Qubic’s rapid ascension particularly surprising.

From controlling less than 2% of Monero’s hashrate in May, Qubic grew to over 25% by late July. The project now claims to have crossed the critical 51% threshold.

Monero Price

Qubic operates what it calls a “useful proof-of-work” system that creates economic incentives for miners. The project converts Monero mining rewards into USDT stablecoins, then uses those funds to purchase and burn its own QUBIC tokens.

This mechanism combines mining strategy with a token supply reduction system. At its peak, Qubic claims its Monero mining was nearly three times more profitable than traditional Monero mining.

The project restructured its reward system following community approval, boosting payouts to validators and attracting miners away from other pools. This economic approach differs from traditional attacks that rely on malicious intent.

Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet estimates that sustaining this attack costs approximately $75 million per day. He warns that while potentially lucrative, the attack threatens to destroy network confidence rapidly.

The Monero network shows concrete signs of disruption. Recent data reveals 60 orphaned blocks in the last 720 blocks, indicating blockchain instability. These orphaned blocks represent valid blocks that were ultimately rejected by the network.

Qubic faced sustained distributed denial-of-service attacks during its initial push for majority control. These attacks disrupted peripheral services for over a week but failed to compromise the CORE network.

The DDOS attacks continued recently, with Ivancheglo describing them as retaliation from “Monero Maxis” on social media platforms.

Qubic claims it has deliberately avoided fully taking over consensus mechanisms, citing concerns about potential impacts on XMR’s market price.

BitMEX research noted that Qubic’s end goal appears to involve taking over all Monero block rewards through sustained selfish mining. The research group questions whether this strategy can be successfully maintained long-term.

Technical analysis shows XMR in oversold territory with an RSI reading of 25 points. The Average Directional Index sits at 29, confirming strong downward momentum remains in place.

The current price action represents a decisive break below critical support levels that had held for months. Weekly charts show Monero price testing key support around the $250-260 range.

Market analysts identify immediate support at $240, with stronger support in the $220-225 range. Immediate resistance levels sit at $270, with stronger resistance between $290-300.

The attack demonstrates vulnerabilities in mid-tier proof-of-work cryptocurrencies. While Bitcoin’s massive hashrate makes 51% attacks prohibitively expensive, smaller networks face more realistic threats.

Privacy-focused coins face particular challenges because network control undermines the censorship resistance they promise users.

The situation continues evolving as Qubic maintains its claimed majority control while Monero developers and community members assess response options.