What Is the Relationship between Network Hash Rate and Network Security?
The total network hash rate is directly proportional to the security of a Proof-of-Work blockchain. A higher hash rate means it is exponentially more expensive and computationally difficult for an attacker to amass the necessary 51% of the total hash power required to execute an attack.
Therefore, a high and distributed network hash rate is the primary defense mechanism against malicious actions.
Glossar
Hash Rate
Power ⎊ Hash rate quantifies the total computational power dedicated to solving the cryptographic puzzle in a Proof-of-Work network.
Distributed Network
Network ⎊ A distributed network, within the context of cryptocurrency, options trading, and financial derivatives, represents a decentralized infrastructure facilitating peer-to-peer interactions and consensus mechanisms, fundamentally altering traditional centralized architectures.
Total Network Hash Rate
Hash ⎊ The total network hash rate represents the cumulative computational power dedicated to validating transactions and securing a proof-of-work cryptocurrency network, such as Bitcoin.
Total Hash Power
Computation ⎊ Total Hash Power represents the collective computational rate employed by a network, primarily in Proof-of-Work blockchains, quantifying the processing capacity dedicated to mining or validating transactions, and directly influencing network security and block generation times.
Higher Hash Rate
Hash ⎊ A higher hash rate, within the context of cryptocurrency, fundamentally represents an increased computational power dedicated to solving cryptographic puzzles required for validating transactions and adding new blocks to a blockchain.
Network Hash Rate
Security ⎊ Network hash rate represents the collective computational power dedicated to a proof-of-work blockchain, directly influencing the cost and feasibility of malicious attacks.