Amid rising tension regarding the vulnerability of crypto assets and increased vigor of double spending attacks on cryptocurrency networks whose climax hitherto has been the recent reorganization of transaction on the Ethereum Classic Blockchain, Grayscale Investment, the startup which underpins the Ethereum Classic Investment Trust (ETCG) has came out tongues blazing to defend its Fund.
On Monday, just a day after the double spend attack on the Ethereum Classic blockchain was unraveled, the investment outfit established it was already sending our emails in response to curios clients who sought to understand the state of the fund with respect to the attack.
The company took the opportunity to elaborate wholesomely what the attack meant, how it occurs and why they deem the fund immune to the attack.
“The greatest risk this poses is to the integrity of the Ethereum Classic Network, as people may be less inclined to accept ETC given the increased double-spend risk. However, the coins within the ETC Trust are not at direct risk of theft or double-spending,” wrote Matt Beck, who doubles up as both product developer and research associate at Grayscale.
Why the fund stands secure
Beck borrowed his idea greatly from Vertcoin, a cryptocurrency project that suffered the same fate last year. In a comprehensive document explaining why the 51% attack on the project was successful and how it happened, Gert- Jaap Glasbergen, the Verticoin developer explained that:
“double spending can only be done by the original sender of the coin – so an attacker can only double spend his own coins, not someone else’s” as a consequence, “the main risk of 51 percent attacks and blockchain reorganization is with people [who] accept the block chain’s asset; and mostly when they do so in large amounts in exchange for virtual goods or services that are non-reversible,” he added elaborating why unlike humans who can easily be tricked to accepting the blockchain’s asset for double-spend Trust Funds remain out of direct risk of such an attack
To elaborate more on the matter, Grayscale Investment director Michael Sonnenshein through his spokesperson confirmed the firm had received substantial inquiries from a number of investors seeking clarity on the recently concluded double spend attack on the Ethereum Classic network. In return the firm gave a comprehensive report regarding the attack including how the attack occurs, the types of network attacks as well as their implication- information which has since been put in the public domain.