
Bitcoin block generation rate has slowed down from 10 mins to almost 15 mins - mbgaxyz
https://blockchain.info/stats
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johnhenry
That fact by itself might not be cause for alarm, but the underlying cause --
a large hashrate drop over a short period of time -- might be a signal that
people are abandoning the network. Emphasize "might".
[https://blockchain.info/charts/hash-
rate](https://blockchain.info/charts/hash-rate)

~~~
Cybourgeoisie
They are likely mining Bitcoin Cash, a recent fork of Bitcoin. It is currently
more profitable for miners to mine Bitcoin Cash, so a large number have opted
to switch over until the profitability ratio flips back to Bitcoin.

There is more information about the relative hash rates for both chains at
[http://fork.lol](http://fork.lol).

~~~
petertodd
Worth noting that miners don't receive the coins they mine immediately - they
can't be spent until they're 100 blocks old - so whether or not it is more
profitable to mine on one coin or another is actually a question of the future
value of the coin, not the present value. BCH has had some really rapid price
swings in a matter of hours, so miners who choose to mine it are exposing
themselves to those swings unless they hedge that risk.

Secondly, as transaction fees are a supply and demand system, demand for
transactions on BTC (tx demand on BCH is negligible) can shift that
profitability ratio simply by paying higher fees. AFAIK miners aren't setup to
switch back and forth on a block-by-block basis yet, but I wouldn't be
surprised if they start to do that in the future.

