Qubic, an AI and compute-focused crypto project, has been quietly becoming the largest Monero mining pool. They claim to allegedly control around 27–38% of Monero’s total hashrate and plan to hit 51% in August 2025. That level of control could allow them to reject other miners’ blocks and destabilize the network.
Qubic says it’s not an attack – just a tech demo for its “Useful Proof of Work” system. When its AI isn’t using compute power, Qubic mines Monero and uses the profits to buy and burn its own token, $QUBIC. The team claims this makes mining more useful and efficient.
Why This Is Controversial
A mining pool controlling more than 51% of a proof-of-work network can potentially alter block validation, censor transactions, or orphan blocks produced by others. While Qubic states it has no intention of doing harm, its founder Sergey Ivancheglo (known as CFB) has confirmed the 51% target and described it as a demonstration of the uPoW system’s capabilities.
Monero’s community has reacted with concern. Some developers and users worry about the potential for centralization, even if no active attack occurs. In the past, Monero has dealt with similar threats by encouraging miners to switch away from dominant pools. However, Qubic miners are not primarily focused on Monero itself – their activity is driven by Qubic’s ecosystem and incentives.
Read also: What is a 51% Attack? Are Bitcoin and Ethereum Safe?
What Happens If They Succeed
If Qubic does reach 51%, they will technically have the ability to reject blocks from other miners and create chain instability. While Qubic has called the event an “economic demo”, public comments from the project’s founder mention entering a “stealth mode” after passing 51%, including stopping hashrate reporting and encrypting traffic to conceal their share.
Can They Actually Reach 51%?
As of July 27, Qubic claims to control about 27% of Monero’s global hashrate, although at the time of writing this article the number was below 15%. That said, if miners switch to Qubic due to its higher profitability, reaching the 51% threshold appears technically possible. However, exact numbers are difficult to verify, especially if Qubic follows through on plans to stop reporting hashrate after reaching its target.
Whether they can maintain 51% over an extended period – or whether the Monero community will take countermeasures – remains uncertain. Some commenters also argue that Qubic’s reported hashrate is inaccurate and likely lower than the declared figures.
