How Bitcoin's Difficulty Adjustment Prevents Mining Death Spirals (Explained by the Recent 7.76% Drop)
Bitcoin's recent 7.76% difficulty drop (block 941,472) demonstrates a critical survival mechanism: the difficulty adjustment algorithm that prevents miner exodus from killing the network. This evergreen technical explainer breaks down how the 2,016-block adjustment works, why it's calibrated to ~2 weeks, what happens when hashrate plummets (like during the Iran energy crisis), and why this self-correcting mechanism makes Bitcoin uniquely resilient compared to chains with static difficulty. Includes historical examples (China mining ban, bear markets) and math behind the adjustment.
·7 min read
