Hong Kong-based trading platform BitMEX owns so much BTC that it could launch multiple 51 percent attacks against some altcoins for months.
bitcoin Insurance Fund Worth $76 Million
Those were the results of calculations from social media commentators this week as it emerged BitMEX’s Insurance Fund now 21,350 BTC ($75.9 million).
The “monstrously large” fund, as Twitter account loomd’rat it in December, has accelerated its accumulation in recent months as the BTC price tanked from $6500 to $3500.
According to BitMEX’s own statistics, on January 1, 2018, the fund had a balance of just 2720 BTC ($9.6 million).
bitcoin podcast producer Zack Voell expressed the balance a year later in different terms, such 1 percent of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase’s recent evaluation or 2 infamous from 2010.
“…BitMEX’s Insurance Fund growth (an unbeatable benchmark) is roughly as predictable as BTC’s monetary policy,” he commented, uploading a graph of BTC’s steady issuance versus the fund’s growth.
Also, BitMEX's Insurance Fund growth (an unbeatable benchmark) is roughly as predictable as BTC's monetary policy.
— Zack Voell [bitcoin Noob] (@zackvoell)
Insane BTC Stash
As Bitcoinist , research had previously delivered stark warnings about the ease of attacking some altcoins’ blockchains to manipulate transaction credibility. With a relatively insignificant amount of money, a malicious party could launch attacks on some of the best-known altcoin networks.
“BitMEX’s Insurance Fund is currently worth 1 percent of Coinbase valuation, 2x Laszlo’s pizzas, 580 2018 GranTurismos, 3,800 hours of an LTC 51 percent attack,” Voell.
Litecoin 00, which researchers included in the findings in May last year, would cost around $18,000 per hour to attack at current prices.
Other assets fared much worse, with Bytecoin (BCN) costing just $557 per hour at the time. BitMEX could now theoretically finance a 51 percent attack on BTC Cash (BCH), Monero (XMR), Dash (DASH), and others for more than a year.
Responding to Voell, however, Twitter users highlighted the size of BitMEX’s holdings as their primary concern.
“(T)he fact that people put up with Bitmex’s products speaks to 1) the maturity and competence of market participants and 2) the state of ‘good’ exchanges in the space, or lack thereof,” one , describing the BTC horde as “literally insane.”
In August, Bitcoinist that BitMex moved into the world’s most expensive office building, located in Hong Kong.
BitMEX did not immediately weigh in on the criticism.
What do you think about BitMEX’s insurance fund? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock
Published at Thu, 24 Jan 2019 02:00:49 +0000
