nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpqacv0qqdqlqatc738vs00zheq9hrf9gu69mn8ezrsf8tte695636s4vw8cy nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpqx9qwd3xze04rtz2cdc65zssfzr5gepeplqfy09ld0053k46p9ncs4rwtr9 nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpqqh097tfm3kv0nwffd9ggptn255d3fuqdcy3wauw5p4gz5z45s92qysh6f2 Qubic, a layer-1 blockchain project founded by IOTA co-founder Sergey Ivancheglo (known as Come-from-Beyond or CFB), is leveraging its "Useful Proof-of-Work" (uPoW) mechanism to coordinate a massive network of CPUs for outsourced computations. In this case, they've redirected idle compute power toward mining Monero (XMR) as a temporary "experiment" or "tech demo." The goal isn't primarily to destroy Monero but to bootstrap Qubic's own ecosystem and showcase its technical capabilities. Here's a breakdown of the motivations, costs, and potential upsides based on available details:
Key Motivations
Demonstrating Technological Superiority and uPoW Efficiency: Qubic's core innovation is turning "wasted" mining energy into useful work, like AI training (via their Aigarth framework) or other computations. Mining Monero serves as a proof-of-concept to show that their decentralized network can outperform traditional PoW chains in coordination and profitability. CFB has framed this as a "resilience test" for Monero while highlighting Qubic's ability to run on bare-metal (no OS), making it more efficient and resistant to attacks like DDoS. Success here validates Qubic's model for future AI-focused tasks, attracting developers and investors to build on their platform.
Economic Bootstrapping via Token Burns: Mined XMR rewards are converted into QUBIC tokens, which are then bought back and burned (per community votes, often 50% for burns and 50% for miner incentives). This creates deflationary pressure on QUBIC's supply, potentially driving up its price. For example, in recent epochs, they've burned hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of QUBIC from XMR proceeds, fueling buying pressure and rewarding holders.
Attracting Miners with Superior Incentives: Qubic offers 3x (or more) profitability compared to solo Monero mining by subsidizing miners with QUBIC tokens during "marathons" (24-hour mining sprints). This has lured thousands of CPUs from Monero pools, as miners can earn more while contributing to Qubic's network. CFB has publicly stated that with 51% dominance, Qubic could offer 7x faster break-even on hardware costs, making it a no-brainer for profit-driven miners who might otherwise mine any CPU-friendly coin.
Exposing Vulnerabilities in Legacy PoW Networks: Some Qubic supporters (and CFB himself) view this as a "wake-up call" for Monero, revealing flaws like reliance on botnets, slow propagation via TOR, and susceptibility to selfish mining (withholding blocks to orphan competitors). It's positioned as innovation over malice—Qubic isn't censoring transactions or double-spending yet, but using the dominance to mine empty blocks faster and claim disproportionate rewards. This aligns with CFB's history of challenging established projects (e.g., past IOTA drama), possibly as a form of "crypto Darwinism."
Publicity and Narrative Control: The move has generated massive buzz, with Qubic's hashrate peaking at 3.01 GH/s (52.72% of Monero's total). Even amid DDoS counterattacks (allegedly from Monero devs using malware networks), Qubic has spun it as a hardening test, boosting community morale and token hype. Critics call it a publicity stunt, but it differentiates Qubic as a "revolutionary" AI-blockchain hybrid in a crowded market.
On the Cost: Not as High as It Seems
The $75 million daily figure (cited by Ledger's CTO) is likely overstated and based on theoretical full-network rental costs or opportunity costs for massive cloud compute. In reality:
Monero's total daily mining rewards are around $109,000 (0.6 XMR/block × 720 blocks/day × ~$253/XMR).
Qubic isn't buying/renting new hardware at scale; they're subsidizing existing Monero miners to switch pools during idle periods, costing as little as $7,000–$10,000/day in QUBIC token emissions.
Their network's efficiency (e.g., no OS overhead, optimized for RandomX) keeps operational costs low. Even with DDoS disruptions, they've recovered quickly, and the "attack" is self-sustaining via mined rewards.
This makes it far more feasible than a traditional 51% attack, where an outsider would need to outspend the entire network from scratch.
Potential Upsides (Why It's Worth It for Qubic)
While the immediate financial gain from XMR mining (~$40,000–$188,000/day at peak, including sidechain Tari) might seem modest, the broader benefits are significant:
Token Price Appreciation: Burns and hype have driven QUBIC up ~70% during surges, with endless cycles of "more miners → more rewards → more burns → higher price → more miners." This could turn their $300 million market cap into a multi-billion one if adoption grows.
Network Growth: Dominance attracts more compute nodes (e.g., 2.77 GH/s from zero in months), building a global CPU supercomputer for AI tasks. Post-Monero, they plan to pivot to decentralized AGI training, unlocking revenue from real-world computations.