Consensus level restriction as a defense against the 51% attacks in ethereum classic: a simulation-based evaluation

Abstract

Blockchain technology provides a decentralized and secure data-management system. However, PoW consensus remains vulnerable to the risk of 51% attacks, where a single miner or pool controls over half of the network and can manipulate blocks and execute double-spending. This paper proposes a defense mechanism called Consensus-Level Restriction (CLR) for Ethereum Classic. It limits the number of sequential blocks from a single miner to reduce the feasibility of 51% attacks. We evaluated the effectiveness of CLR by using BlockSim simulator. Results show that CLR reduces the success rate of 51% attacks while maintaining a decentralized structure. This work strengthens blockchain security without compromising PoW principles.