Through the design of the technology, we know that the blockchain is immune to attack from any individual member of the network. However, what happens if the blockchain comes under attack from a large group of participants? More precisely, what happens if a group successfully takes control of over 50% of the computing power of the blockchain? Such a scenario is known as a 51% attack , and it is one of the few real vulnerabilities of a blockchain. To understand the problems posed by a 51% attack, we must return to the fundamentals of the blockchain and recall the process of adding a new block to the chain. Members of a network compete to be the first to compute a valid seal for the block and claim a reward. Inevitably, a group of individuals in control of over half the computing power of the network can monopolize this process and claim all the rewards for themselves. Such a situation allows this group to be the only entity to benefit from the rewards of the block...