Bitcoin Network Experiences Rare Chain Reorganization Between Antpool and Spiderpool

On September 11th, a rare event occurred on the Bitcoin network. Two of its largest mining pools, Antpool and Spiderpool, discovered two valid blocks at block height 966500. This led to a brief competition between the two pools as they tried to build upon their respective blocks.

The competing blocks both pointed back to the same parent, and Galaxy Research documented this reorganization via its private node. According to Galaxy, 'Bitcoin experienced a small 1-block reorg this morning... This is common: the third time in four weeks (962,722 on Aug. 16, 963,853 on Aug. 24)'.

Ultimately, Antpool's block joined the chain with the most accumulated work, while Spiderpool's valid block was discarded. Galaxy Research notes that such small reorgs are not uncommon and can occur when two blocks are built at nearly the same time.

The article also mentions deeper chain reorganizations on other proof-of-work networks, including Monero and Bitcoin SV, which saw 18-block and 100-block reorgs respectively. Galaxy warns that such deep reorgs have significant security implications.