TLDR:
- Bitcoin nodes remain connected even if 72–92% of global submarine cables fail simultaneously.
- Random infrastructure failures rarely disrupt more than 5% of Bitcoin nodes worldwide.
- Targeting high-betweenness cables can fragment Bitcoin with only 20% of total cable damage.
- Top hosting providers supporting Bitcoin nodes could cause network disruption with just 5% capacity loss.
Bitcoin network resilience has become the focus of a major academic study examining how the network reacts to internet infrastructure failures.
Researchers from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance analyzed eleven years of node data and submarine cable outages.
Random Infrastructure Failures Show Bitcoin Stability
Bitcoin network resilience remains strong when infrastructure failures occur randomly across the global internet. The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance studied data on Bitcoin nodes between 2014 and 2025.
Researchers focused on submarine communication cables, which carry most international internet traffic. They tested scenarios by simulating different portions of global cable failures.
The study found that between 72% and 92% of submarine cables must fail simultaneously before major fragmentation occurs. Fragmentation is defined as more than 10% of nodes losing connectivity.
Reviewing sixty‑eight real cable fault events over the past decade, the study found that most incidents produced minimal disruption. Eighty‑seven percent of the faults caused less than five percent of node disconnection.
A notable case in 2024 occurred off West Africa, where several cables were severed. Regional internet connectivity suffered, yet the global Bitcoin network remained mostly unaffected.
Bitcoin nodes are widely distributed across countries and independent networks. This geographic and network diversity allows block propagation to continue even when certain regions lose connectivity.
Targeted Attacks and Tor Connectivity Reveal Critical Factors
Targeted attacks, however, reveal vulnerabilities in the Bitcoin network’s resilience. Some submarine cables carry disproportionately high traffic and are considered high‑betweenness edges.
Simulations show that disrupting around 20% of these critical cables could produce the same fragmentation as 72–92% of random cable failures. This demonstrates that specific infrastructure matters more than total volume.
Concentration in hosting providers also matters. A few companies—including Hetzner, OVH, Comcast, Amazon, and Google Cloud—host a large portion of reachable nodes. Removing only about five percent of routing capacity in these networks could fragment Bitcoin connectivity.
Tor network adoption further affects resilience. By 2025, approximately 64% of Bitcoin nodes were reachable through Tor, compared to only a few dozen in 2014. Tor routing adds redundancy by providing alternative communication paths.
Tor relays are often located in European countries with dense fiber networks. These alternative routes help maintain connectivity even during regional infrastructure failures.
A tweet summarizing the finding noted: “Bitcoin survives massive random cable outages. Targeting key hosting providers could disrupt the network with minimal infrastructure damage.”
Overall, the study indicates that Bitcoin network resilience depends more on which infrastructure fails rather than how much fails. Random outages rarely impact the network, while targeted disruptions could create critical chokepoints.
