Kraken Halts XMR Deposits After Qubic’s 51% Monero Hashrate
Crypto exchange Kraken halted Monero (XMR) deposits on August 15 after the Qubic mining pool claimed control of over 51% of the network’s hashrate. Qubic reorganized six blocks, enabling potential double-spends and transaction reversals before its hashing power briefly dipped from 2.6 GH/s to 0.8 GH/s during a DDoS attack on August 4. Although trading and withdrawals remain unaffected, Kraken cited risks to network integrity, including block reorganizations, double-spends and censorship. The incident triggered a 10% drop in Monero’s price, which later recovered to around $265, up 12% in 24 hours. Kraken plans to resume XMR deposits once hashing power decentralizes and network security is restored. Traders should watch Monero’s decentralization level and Kraken’s deposit status as volatility may increase.
Bearish
The 51% hash power concentration and deposit suspension by Kraken have eroded market confidence, leading to immediate selling pressure and heightening volatility. While Monero’s price recovered after the initial drop, uncertainty over network security and deposit availability is likely to suppress bullish sentiment in the short term. In the long term, restoration of decentralization and clear security improvements could stabilize XMR’s price, but traders remain cautious until network integrity risks are fully addressed.