How Is the Difficulty Adjustment Mechanism a Defense against a Rapid Hashrate Drop?

If a large number of miners suddenly leave the network, the hashrate drops significantly, causing block times to slow down dramatically. The difficulty adjustment mechanism is designed to eventually lower the mining difficulty.

This makes it easier to find a valid hash, thus speeding up block production and maintaining the network's operational stability. It acts as a self-correcting feedback loop to ensure consistent block times regardless of hashrate fluctuations.