Litecoin

Komodo to Use Litecoin Notarizations to Protect Against 51% Attacks

  • Komodo (KMD) platform will start using Litecoin for cross-chain notarizations
  • The move is aimed at providing a cost-effective mechanism for 51% protection
  • Komodo has been using Bitcoin but a need to reduce costs and scale has led to the switch to Litecoin
  • The switch will happen in June of this year during Komodo’s Notary Node Season 5

The team at Komodo (KMD) has announced a plan to start using the Litecoin blockchain for cross-chain notarizations. The move is aimed at protecting small chains within the Komodo platform, against 51% of attacks.

Komodo To Switch from Bitcoin to Litecoin for Cross-Chain Notarizations

Komodo has been using the Bitcoin network to perform cross-chain notarizations as the BTC blockchain has a proven track record of being secure, decentralized and having a high level of having power.

Additionally, the costs of carrying out a 51% on the Bitcoin network are extremely high thus making it an ideal choice for cross-chain notarizations.

However, the Bitcoin network is becoming costlier and congested as the world adopts the digital asset at a rate similar to the internet in the 90s. As a result, the Komodo team decided to explore ways of a sustainable future with the Litecoin network being the automatic next choice due to the following reasons.

  • The Litecoin network is cost-effective with cross-chain notarizations on LTC saving between 2.5 – 3 BTC per month. Such savings add up and opens more opportunities to onboard new projects onto Komodo
  • Litecoin has a lower carbon footprint than Bitcoin thus reducing the consumption of resources
  • Litecoin’s network has a high hash rate compared to other Proof-of-work blockchains
  • Block times on Litecoin are 4 times faster than Bitcoin’s
  • Litecoin’s hash power is also very decentralized thus making it difficult to coordinate a 51% attack

Switch to Litecoin Will Happen in June

According to the team at Komodo Platform, the switch to Litecoin for cross-chain notarizations will occur in June 2021, after Komodo’s fifth notary election. The election is to determine nodes on the Komodo platform who are tasked with securing the network as explained below.

Notary Nodes are 64 dedicated servers that are elected annually by the Komodo community. They are responsible for running delayed Proof of Work (dPoW) — a security mechanism that recycles the hash rate of the Bitcoin network through a series of cross-chain notarizations. dPoW has successfully defended against real 51% attack attempts and currently secures over 30 production blockchains, protecting several hundred million dollars in value.