The Bitcoin network is a decentralized network that has managed to fend off all the naysayers and remain hack-proof to date. However, due to its current parabolic growth, many detractors have started to feel threatened by its presence. With an average market dominance ratio of 45%, Bitcoin is still acting as the central pillar for the entire cryptocurrency market.
The best way to derail the top coin is to shake the confidence of the investors in the flagship cryptocurrency. If the Bitcoin network was to succumb to the pressure from opposing entities, the probability of the entire crypto space going down with it would be quite strong. One scenario called the Night terror is something that the mining community is working on tackling.
Decentralization is an essential quality of the Bitcoin network. In terms of mining geographical distribution decentralization status of Bitcoin can be questioned. The majority of the mining operators must be present in multiple locations around the world to safeguard the integrity of the blockchain.
However, the captive mining groups with a massive hashrate generation capability that depend on third-party power supply resources are a pain point. These clusters are termed the captive elephant. Crypto experts postulate a theory that the detractors can cripple the hashrate generation by cutting off the third-party power supply resources.
The Bitcoin Nightmare scenario is a phase when the difficulty epoch will stretch far greater than an average of 10 minutes. Under the Night Terror scenario, the captive elephant miners responsible for 99% of the hashrate supply will be paralyzed, while the rabbits and horses miners will be able to restore the hashrates by 25%.
According to the experts, it can take up to 3.8 years for the miners to completely restore the hashrates. The biggest fallback of the situation is that Bitcoin holders will be locked out of all on-chain platforms. Off-chain forums like LN, swaps and DEX will soon run out of fuel due to the complete outage of the on-chain space. Therefore, the mining analysts suggest that the mining capability distribution is further multiplied and discourages the clustering of hashrate generation from a singular location.
