How Does the Concept of a “Difficulty Bomb” in Some Blockchains Affect Mining Pool Strategy?

A "difficulty bomb" is a mechanism in some blockchains (like Ethereum's former Proof-of-Work) that periodically and exponentially increases the network difficulty. This makes mining progressively harder, eventually rendering it unprofitable, forcing a network transition (e.g. to Proof-of-Stake).

A pool operator's strategy must account for this, preparing for the eventual cessation of mining operations or migrating to a different, fork-off chain.