What Is a "51% Attack"?
A 51% attack refers to a malicious actor (or group acting in concert), controlling over 50% of the total mining power of the blockchain network and disrupting the integrity of the blockchain.
Due to the way blockchain functions, consensus is required for transactions to be confirmed or added. A bad actor who controls the majority of the hashing or mining power can theoretically "form the majority" in this consensus mechanism and disrupt the integrity of the blockchain by modifying the order of transactions, preventing transactions from being confirmed, or double spend.
An example of a 51% attack happened in January 2019 on the altcoin Ethereum Classic blockchain.
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