🔒 Study: 72% of subsea cables would need to fail to impact Bitcoin Research from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance has for the first time quantified the critical failure threshold of submarine cables required to significantly impact the Bitcoin network. Conducted by researchers Wenbin Wu and Alexander Neumueller using P2P network data from 2014 to 2025 and 68 verified cable failure events, the study finds that between 72% and 92% of all intercontinental submarine cables would need to fail simultaneously before more than 10% of network nodes disconnect. The network shows greater vulnerability to targeted attacks on strategic cable chokepoints, however, with researchers describing this vector as "an order of magnitude more effective" than random failures — a critical threshold of just 5% to 20% of cables could cause substantial disruption if selectively targeted. The study also highlights the role of Tor in strengthening network resilience. With 64% of Bitcoin nodes concealing their physical location through Tor, and relay infrastructure concentrated in well-connected European countries such as Germany, France, and the Netherlands, researchers conclude that "Tor adoption enhances resilience within the current relay geography, rather than introducing hidden fragilities." https://atlas21.com/study-72-of-subsea-cables-would-need-…