How Does a Network’s Decentralization Level Affect Its Resistance to a 51% Attack?
A highly decentralized network, where the hash rate is distributed among many independent miners across various geographic and political jurisdictions, is far more resistant to a 51% attack. Centralization, such as a few mining pools controlling a majority of the hash rate, makes the network vulnerable.
In a decentralized system, coordinating 51% of the hash power would require collusion among a vast number of independent actors, which is practically impossible.
Glossar
Resistance
Threshold ⎊ The concept of resistance, within cryptocurrency derivatives and options trading, fundamentally represents a price level where selling pressure historically outweighs buying interest, impeding further upward price movement.
Independent Miners
Entity ⎊ Independent Miners are individual participants in a Proof-of-Work network who operate their own hardware and submit their computational work directly to the blockchain, bypassing the pooling mechanism.
Decentralization Level
Architecture ⎊ Decentralization Level, within cryptocurrency and derivatives, fundamentally describes the distribution of control and operational authority across a network or system.