- Buterin said a 51% attack cannot make an invalid blockchain valid.
- Colluding validators cannot steal user assets on-chain, he added.
- Risk stays if users outsource decisions to a validator set; slashing raises the cost.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has triggered a round of discussion with his latest post about 51% attacks on blockchain. Buterin, who classified his latest post as a reminder, noted that a 51% attack “cannot make an invalid blockchain valid.”
Related: Vitalik Buterin “Respects” Steak ‘n Shake’s Decision Not to Adopt ETH for Payments
51% Attack is Also Limited
To further explain his view, Buterin noted that 51% validators colluding cannot steal users’ assets on a blockchain. However, he stated that this property does not carry over if blockchain users start trusting your validator set to do other things.
According to Buterin, 51% attack remains a valid risk for blockchains, considering that validators can collude to give deceptive answers, leaving users without recourse.
The EigenLayer and slashing context
Some respondents to Buterin’s post suspected an encrypted message in his presentation, with one such individual asking if he was referring to EigenLayer. Buterin did not give a direct reply to the question. Instead, he noted that EigenLayer relied on slashing for the exact reason of a 51% attack.
It is worth noting that Slashing does not directly prevent 51% attacks on blockchains. It rather makes them extremely costly, serving as a penalty to discourage validators that may want to engage in the process.
Blockchain’s Unending Evolution
In the meantime, Buterin’s reignition of the 51% attack debate triggered many questions among several blockchain community members on X, with most of their interrogations being rhetorical. For instance, one community member asked if it would be fair to say that blockchains do not guarantee veracity, and another queried if it should still be called a blockchain if 51% of validators can agree on an irregular state change.
Related: Base L2 Gets Vitalik Buterin’s Approval: “Doing Things Right” Model With Stage-1 Protection
Blockchain technology has undergone continuous evolution, with several developments adding to and modifying the basics of the original protocol since the introduction of decentralized blockchains. Notably, no single protocol currently boasts a perfect system, necessitating more advancements and collaboration among blockchains to produce more robust systems.
A: No. Full nodes keep validity rules. Majority control cannot override protocol validity.
A: No under normal rules. They cannot move assets without valid signatures or valid transactions.
A: In censorship, re-ordering, and reorgs, and when apps trust validator answers for extra services beyond consensus.
A: It raises the cost of collusion. It does not remove the risk. It helps deter majority abuse when validators take on extra duties.
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