How Does a Death Spiral Affect the Security of the Blockchain?

During a death spiral, the security of the blockchain is severely compromised. As the hash rate plummets, the cost for an attacker to acquire 51% of the remaining hash power drops dramatically.

This makes the network highly vulnerable to a 51% attack and double-spending. Even without an attack, the long, unpredictable block times undermine the finality of transactions, eroding user trust.