How Does Decentralized Mining Mitigate the Risk of a 51% Attack?

Decentralized mining means that the total network hash rate is distributed among a very large number of independent miners and pools. When no single entity controls a significant portion of the hash rate, it becomes prohibitively expensive and logistically difficult for any one group to acquire the 51% needed for an attack.

A high degree of decentralization is key to the security of a PoW network.

Can a Single Entity Control All ‘N’ Keys in a Multisig Setup and Still Claim Risk Reduction?
How Does an Index Price Mitigate the Risk of Price Manipulation?
How Does the Concept of “Proof-of-Work” Contribute to the Immutability of a Blockchain And, Consequently, Non-Repudiation?
How Does a Network’s Decentralization Level Affect Its Resistance to a 51% Attack?
How Does a Decentralized Network Structure Inherently Resist a 51 Percent Attack?
What Risks Does a Market Maker Face When Their Win Rate Is Too High?
What Is the Concept of ‘Sufficient Decentralization’ in Crypto?
How Do Governance Tokens Fit into the Decentralization Argument?

Glossar