How Many Computers and What Power Would Be Needed to Compromise the Bitcoin Network? A Guide to the Crypto-Apocalypse 🚀💻

What is a 51% Attack?💥

Before diving into the numbers, let’s clarify what we’re talking about. A 51% attack is a scenario in which someone gains control over more than half of the computational power (hashrate) of a blockchain network. This level of control allows for several mischievous activities:

1. Double Spending: Imagine buying a Lamborghini, and before it’s delivered, rewriting the transaction so you keep both the car and your cryptocurrencies. Sounds cool, right? (Well, for the villain at least.)
2. Blocking Transactions: No one else would be able to spend their crypto, which would likely make the entire crypto community hate you (and very quickly).
3. Mining Monopoly: You could decide which blocks are added to the blockchain, giving you… well, a lot of power.

But to pull off something like this, you’d need an absurd amount of computational power. And no, we’re not talking about your old 2012 laptop that you use to play Minesweeper.

The Current Power of the Bitcoin Network🏋️‍♂️

In 2024, the Bitcoin network operates at a staggering 760 EH/s (exahashes per second). If you can’t quite picture what that means, imagine every person on the planet performing billions of calculations every second. It’s an absolutely enormous amount of power.

Here’s the fun fact: to control 51% of this network, you’d need at least 387.6 EH/s. So, how much hardware and money would that actually require? Let’s find out!

Introducing: Antminer S21 – your best friend (and blockchain enemy) 🤖

For calculations, we will use one of the most modern mining devices – Bitmain Antminer S21 . This handsome guy has the following specifications:

• Performance: 200 TH/s (terahas per second) – which is 200 trillion calculations every second.
• Power consumption: 3,500 watts – which is like turning your grandmother’s old kettle on full blast.

How many of these super-machines do we need? 🤔

We calculate simply:

This machine can process 200 terahashes per second. To determine how many devices would be needed to reach 387.6 exahashes per second, we need to convert units. One exahash is equal to one million terahashes. In other words, 387.6 exahashes is the same as 387,600,000 terahashes.​

1 EH/s = 1,000,000 TH/s, also 387.6 EH/s = 387,600,000 TH/s.

Each Antminer S21 has a capacity of 200 terahas per second. To figure out how many of these machines are needed, we need to divide the total required power by the power of one machine. This means that 387,600,000 terahas per second is divided by 200 terahas per second. The result is approximately 1,938,000 machines. In other words, you would need almost two million mining machines to dominate the Bitcoin network.

Yes, you read that right. You need 1,938,000 Antminers S21 , which is enough to open your own “army of machines.”

How much would it cost? 💸

The price of one Antminer S21 is approximately 5,134 US dollars. So if one device costs more than five thousand dollars, the total cost of 1,938,000 devices would be huge. We need to multiply the price per device by the total number of machines. If we multiply 1,938,000 devices by $5,134, we get an approximate total price of $9.95 billion. So, to buy all the necessary devices, you would need almost ten billion dollars.

So unless you have money printed at home (or the name Elon Musk), you probably won’t even get to the first million machines.

Energy Madness🔋⚡

Each Antminer S21 consumes 3,500 watts. If you were to operate all the devices simultaneously, you would need to multiply this consumption by the total number of machines. Multiplying 1,938,000 devices by 3,500 watts gives a total energy consumption of approximately 6.78 gigawatts.

On top of that, you’ll need cooling. A lot of cooling. Otherwise, your mining farms would turn into one giant pizza oven.

Logistical Nightmares 🚚🏗️

1. Where to Store It All?

Imagine a warehouse the size of a football stadium. Now picture 20 of those stadiums filled with mining machines. That’s the amount of space you’d need to launch your “small” mining farm.

2. Machine Delivery

Producing 1.9 million Antminers would take years, as factories would need to manufacture almost exclusively for you. On top of that, you’d need to create a transportation plan rivaling the complexity of the Moon Landing mission.

3. Everyone Would Hate You

Not only would you cause widespread power outages, but crypto enthusiasts worldwide would likely track you down and launch a manhunt for the “greatest villain in blockchain history.”

What About Teaming Up with Mining Pools? 🤝

Instead of buying 1.9 million devices, you could “hack” into existing mining pools. For example, the largest mining pools control around 20–25% of the network’s hashrate. Partnering with or compromising these pools might be more efficient than building your own farm.

However, even this strategy has its issues, as the community would quickly detect and expose your actions.