Quote from: mgio on December 24, 2013, 07:08:48 PM

Quote from: Lucky Cris on December 24, 2013, 06:57:05 PM

Quote from: BurtW on December 24, 2013, 02:47:02 PM

Do you even know what a 51% attack is? Do you know what can be done using it? Do you know what would happen if a pool tried to do it?

Let's do a mind experiment. Assume BTC guild, right now, has 60% of all the hashing power. Now explain to me exactly what they would do in order to pull off a "51% attack", exactly what they would accomplish by doing it and most importantly exactly why they would do it.

A 51% Attack doesn't have to be intentional, does it? If any pool had 60% of the hashing power, an attack would be forthcoming. The pool doesn't have to try to do it, it will, which is why the pools cap themselves. Blocks other miners solve would be orphaned left and right... The longest chain always win the conflict, right? That isn't to say it was done intentionally or with malice. But whoever has the upper hand would benefit from the block rewards and transactions fees of those resolved 'conflicts.' On the other hand, if a pool wanted to orchestrate an attack... well, I guess that's another topic.

No, that's not how it works. There is no problem with a pool having more than 50% of the hash power as long as they don't abuse that power.

Can you explain how it works, or how the pool can prevent from abusing that power? Can that power be abused - oh, hell yes! I'm not talking about the many things that a pool powerhouse has the ability to do.... But how can said pool prevent from NOT taking other miners' block rewards and transaction fees? This isn't intentional - As the authority on the network (so to speak), clients will believe the pool's hashed transaction block over any other. That means the pool will win all transaction conflicts, and get the rewards.

I'll accept what you said that there's no problem with having more than 50% of the hashing power, but you've got to explain just a lil... after all, I'm still an infant in this world too.