Key Points
- A griefing attack on the Bitcoin testnet network generated three years worth of blocks within a week.
- The attack disrupted the network’s normal functioning and caused frustrations among developers.
A significant disruption occurred on the Bitcoin testnet network due to a griefing attack. This type of attack involves the intentional spamming of transactions, which increases the network’s workload and disrupts its regular operations. Such attacks can be a source of frustration for network users, as it becomes more challenging to run applications on the system. Despite this, the attacker does not reap any financial benefit.
Jameson Lopp, the co-founder and Chief Security Officer of Casa, a crypto self-custody platform, claimed responsibility for the incident. He stated that his griefing attack resulted in over 165,000 blocks, equivalent to three years’ worth, being generated in just one week. Lopp shared this information via Nostr, a decentralized social media platform.
Impact of the Attack
According to data on the Bitcoin network testnet, the hashrate spiked to 2,315 TH/s on April 19, before returning to 346 TH/s on April 28. Lopp mentioned that those running exchanges and trading testnet tokens for real value noticed the disruption almost immediately.
The attack also interrupted node syncing on the Bitcoin testnet. Leo Weese, technical content lead at Lightning Labs, noted that there were thousands of new blocks per hour, making it impossible to reach the tip no matter how fast one syncs. He expressed concerns about the future of permission-less testing networks.
Reactions and Consequences
Despite the disruption, the Bitcoin testnet did not suffer any severe damage. Francis Pouliot, co-founder of non-custodial Bitcoin exchange and payments firm Bull Bitcoin, stated that the only harm was the interference with the tests of open-source Bitcoin application builders, wasting their time.
Lopp suggested that the incident should be seen as a “free stress test,” which faced additional backlash from the crypto community. Requests for comments from Lopp and Pouliot were not immediately responded to.
