Gate’s cryptocurrency analysts have been closely monitoring the ongoing challenges faced by Monero due to a selfish mining tactic employed by the Qubic Pool. In response, key contributors, particularly those from the Monero Research Lab, are evaluating various approaches to counteract Qubic’s strategy and prevent similar attacks in the future.

Among the ideas discussed recently, the “Publish or Perish” proposal by tevador, introduced on August 27, has gained traction within the Monero community. This proposal, listed as issue #144 in the research-lab repository of the monero-project on GitHub, draws inspiration from a 2017 paper titled “Publish or Perish: A Backward-Compatible Defense Against Selfish Mining in Bitcoin” by Ren Zhang.

The proposal aims to make selfish mining unprofitable and less disruptive for attackers controlling less than 51% of the network’s hashrate, thereby enhancing network stability. A cryptocurrency expert shared insights with Gate on this matter:

“Monero’s strength isn’t just about privacy; it’s also about maintaining a secure and equitable mining process. With a single pool now commanding roughly a third of the hashrate, selfish mining poses a real threat. It reduces earnings for honest miners and can shake confidence in the network,” the expert explained. “The new proposals, including Publish or Perish and Reward Splitting, are crucial steps forward. They significantly reduce the profitability of selfish mining while safeguarding honest miners’ revenues. Whether implemented through a soft fork, hard fork, or coordinated mining efforts, these measures are essential for preserving Monero’s reliability and fortifying the network against attacks.”

Understanding the Publish or Perish Proposal

Tevador’s proposal consists of two distinct components: a soft fork and a hard fork. The soft fork, which is the core of the Publish or Perish (PoP) strategy, introduces the concept of “late blocks” to penalize miners who delay broadcasting their mined blocks. This directly addresses a key aspect of selfish mining, where miners withhold multiple blocks before releasing them simultaneously to reorganize the chain.

According to tevador, this approach would mitigate smaller-scale attacks from entities controlling less than 51% of the network’s hashrate, requiring at least three-block-deep reorganizations. However, it might still be possible, albeit less profitable, for large mining pools to engage in selfish mining.

The hard fork proposal would extend PoP by incorporating Reward Splitting (RS), eliminating economic incentives for selfish mining unless an attacker can outpace the honest network by at least 20 blocks. RS introduces significant consensus changes to Monero, fundamentally altering reward distribution to promote fairness and network stability.

Monero Research Lab developers convened on August 29 to discuss these proposals, with transcripts now publicly available. The meeting also touched on the controversial idea of transforming Monero into a hybrid chain with a proof-of-stake finality layer. However, some developers expressed reservations about this approach due to concerns over early XMR distribution.

Monero (XMR) Market Analysis

At the time of writing, Monero (XMR) was trading just under $260 per coin, fluctuating within a range between this level and $285. The leading privacy coin has experienced a decline of approximately 20% from its July 2025 trading range, coinciding with the onset of selfish mining attacks.

Technical analysis of the daily chart indicates a short-term downtrend for XMR against the US dollar, with the cryptocurrency struggling to break above the 50-day exponential moving average, a key technical indicator for digital assets.

This proposal represents a critical juncture for Monero as it seeks to address the Qubic pool’s selfish mining attacks and alleviate growing uncertainty surrounding the project. Positive developments could provide the necessary momentum for XMR’s price recovery, while continued disruptions might have the opposite effect.

Interestingly, recent data shows that Google searches for “privacy coins” have reached unprecedented levels, potentially signaling increased interest in cryptocurrencies like Monero that prioritize user privacy.

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