Hash power accumulation is best way to combat Bitcoin’s attack vectors, claims BlockTower Capital’s CIO

Bitcoin and the rest of the cryptocurrency market have always been under threat from hackers who try to use the blockchain’s functionalities for nefarious purposes. In a recent Twitter thread, Ari Paul, a popular cryptocurrency advocate and Chief Investment Officer [CIO] at BlockTower Capital, spoke about the attack vectors in Bitcoin and the methods that can be used to overcome said attacks. He stated,

“First an easy one.  The “hash power death spiral.”  If price falls below marginal cost of mining, block times could increase and threaten a death spiral of ever longer block times.  This is easily remedied.”

Paul assumes that many stakeholders and investors have already been incentivized to take up the role of  “white knights” because these people are ready to take a hit in terms of profits for the betterment of the blockchain.

The Bitcoin proponent opined that in the case of an attack, major players in the ecosystem like cryptocurrency exchanges and service providers need to have a plan to execute sufficient hash power to curb any such event.  He also listed other ways to curb attacks on the blockchain, adding,

“Now for a hard one – reorganization attacks like the one successfully done on ETC, or as threatened by BSV leadership against BCH.  Solution – a more aggressive and coordinated white knight mining coalition that can react in real-time to 51%/reorg attacks.”

The CIO suggested the principle of preparing before war as it is easier to accumulate and coordinate hash power out in the open, rather than conducting anything behind closed doors. This was said in conjunction with the fact that in the event of an attack, it would be much easier to deploy the accumulated hash power, rather than waiting for good actors to join in. Ari Paul added,

“We’re nearing the point in time where hypothetical defenses by bitcoin stakeholders to attacks should be constructively prepared.  claims about how bitcoin can survive anything might be right, but they’ll be right because stakeholders are prepared to enact the defenses.”