Qubic Founder Hints at 51% Attack on Zcash

- Sergey Ivancheglo, founder of Qubic, suggests a potential 51% attack on Zcash. - The statement raises ethical concerns and accusations of market manipulation. Sergey Ivancheglo, founder of the AI crypto protocol Qubic, has sparked controversy in the cryptocurrency community by suggesting a potential 51% attack against the privacy-focused blockchain Zcash (ZEC). He made the remarks on social media on August 17, 2025, and his statements have since drawn widespread criticism for their ethical implications and potential for market manipulation. On August 17, Cryptopolitan reported that Ivancheglo, also known by his alias Come-From-Beyond, described plans for an “economic experiment.” This experiment aims to inflict “max damage” on the Zcash blockchain. He justified his position by accusing Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox-O’Hearn of being “pro-government” and claimed the privacy token fails to deliver the anonymity it promises. Key stakeholders in the crypto industry have criticized the remarks, arguing that such actions would primarily harm Zcash users and raise significant concerns about market manipulation. One social media user pointed out that publicly discussing these plans might breach regulatory standards, but Ivancheglo dismissed these concerns, citing freedom of speech and claiming that U.S. sanctions on his home country of Belarus protect him from legal consequences in the United States. Meanwhile, Zcash supporters argued that Ivancheglo based his criticisms on outdated statements from Wilcox-O’Hearn, noting that his views on privacy and governance have reportedly evolved since 2017. This controversy echoes a recent incident involving Monero (XMR), another privacy-focused blockchain. Earlier in 2025, Qubic’s mining pool briefly controlled a majority of Monero's hashrate, which led to a temporary chain reorganization. Although Qubic described the incident as a demonstration of proof-of-work vulnerabilities, the Monero community disputed this characterization as an attack. The event subsequently prompted cryptocurrency exchange Kraken to temporarily suspend Monero deposits. Despite the criticism of Ivancheglo’s remarks, Zcash experienced a minor price bump. According to Cryptopolitan on August 17, its price rose over 3% within 24 hours. However, this small gain comes as Zcash has underperformed through much of 2025, with a year-to-date loss of 37% as of that date. In contrast, Qubic’s native token (QUBIC) has surged 135% in the past 90 days, suggesting a growing interest in blockchain projects focused on economic experimentation and privacy technologies. As of August 17 at 16:13 UTC, Zcash (ZEC) was trading at $37.813, with its 24-hour trading volume up by 2.918%. This performance, however, highlights its ongoing challenges, as the token has seen a 60-day decline of 9.385% and a 30-day drop of 16.001%. Despite these struggles, Zcash remains a focal point in discussions about privacy-oriented cryptocurrencies.