What Is a “Difficulty Bomb” and Which Cryptocurrency Uses It?
A difficulty bomb is a mechanism intentionally coded into a blockchain's protocol that causes the mining difficulty to increase exponentially over time. This makes mining eventually impossible.
Ethereum (ETH) used a difficulty bomb to force a transition from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS), ensuring the network upgrade (The Merge) would occur.
Glossar
Network Upgrade
Catalyst ⎊ A network upgrade within cryptocurrency infrastructure represents a fundamental alteration to the protocol’s operating parameters, often driven by the need to enhance scalability, security, or introduce novel functionalities like improved smart contract capabilities.
Cryptocurrency
Asset ⎊ Cryptocurrency, within the context of options trading and financial derivatives, represents a digitally native asset class exhibiting characteristics of both fiat currency and commodities, yet fundamentally distinct due to its cryptographic security and decentralized nature.
PoW to PoS
Migration ⎊ PoW to PoS denotes the fundamental migration of a blockchain's consensus mechanism from Proof-of-Work, which relies on computational power, to Proof-of-Stake, which secures the network through staked capital.
Forced Transition
Event ⎊ A Forced Transition describes a mandatory, often non-optional, shift in the underlying protocol parameters or consensus mechanism of a cryptocurrency network.
Mining Difficulty
Algorithm ⎊ The mining difficulty, fundamentally, represents a dynamically adjusted parameter within blockchain networks, primarily designed to maintain a consistent block generation rate irrespective of computational power fluctuations.
Difficulty Bomb
Concept ⎊ A difficulty bomb is a pre-programmed mechanism in some Proof of Work blockchains designed to gradually increase mining difficulty to an impossibly high level.