How Does a Sudden Influx of Highly Efficient Mining Hardware Impact the Network?
A sudden influx of highly efficient mining hardware, such as a new generation of ASICs, causes a rapid increase in the total network hash rate without a proportional increase in energy consumption. This leads to blocks being found faster than the target time.
The difficulty adjustment algorithm will then significantly increase the difficulty to compensate, effectively making older, less efficient hardware obsolete and less profitable.
