Bitcoin Cash SV (BSV), one of two new coins that resulted from the hard fork of the Bitcoin Cash blockchain, is reportedly vulnerable to double spending.
Recently, a user uploaded a video to Vimeo showing that he exploited the BSV network as he was able to spend the same coins twice via a “0-conf transaction.” As most crypto enthusiasts would know, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) was created on August 1, 2017, after the first hard fork of the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain.
The Vulnerability
Then on November 15 this year, there was another hard fork of Bitcoin Cash, which involved those in the Bitcoin ABC side, such as Roger Ver, and members of the Bitcoin Cash SV (“Satoshi’s Vision”) side, which is supported by CoinGeek’s Calvin Ayre and self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto Craig Steven Wright.
Since the hard fork last month, both the BSV and the BCHABCchain, which has now acquired the BCH ticker on most crypto exchanges, are doing relatively well – as both are in the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. However, a user was able to take advantage of the 0-conf (or zero-conf), which allows near instant transactions, meaning they are usually confirmed in the subsequent block.
As demonstrated in the video, the user (named “reizu”) conducted a multi-phase test in which he showed that it was possible to “double spend” BSV tokens through a “0-conf transaction.” This showed that the BSV network is vulnerable to attacks, which self-proclaimed bitcoin inventor Craig Wright has claimed “only miners” would be able to do.
User Claims To Have Done Many Double Spends
Video footage of Reizu’s double spending demonstration was captured using POP!, a popular point-of-sale (PoS) retail app that is able to detect double spending. Commenting on his ability to double-spend, Reizu wrote:
I’ve done many double-spending on the Bitcoin SV network,
His comments were posted to Honest Cash, a BCH-focused social network group launched soon after the mid-November Bitcoin Cash hard fork. Honest Cash’s information page states that the website was created in order to help people communicate effectively, without getting their comments or feedback removed or censored.
Since launch, the BSV network has experienced several challenges. Last week, the BSV chain went through a block reorganization. This event created a lot of controversy on social media as many users posted negative comments, with some saying the BSV network is highly centralized due to only a handful of people making key decisions regarding how to manage its blockchain.
BSV Is “Very Centralized”
According to Reizu’s assessment, the Bitcoin Cash SV network is “very centralized.” His post on Honest Hash reads:
After a few mined blocks I discovered that the transactions that were being mined were those that were sent almost always to the same nodes.
Reize also noted that out of a total of 450 nodes, only 4 nodes control 75% of BSV’s total hashrate. BCH is, at press time, outperforming BSV on the market as it’s trading over $110, while BSV is struggling to hit the $100 mark.
