A rare two-block reorganization event occurred on the Bitcoin network around block height 941880, causing a temporary chain fork before the network's consensus mechanism resolved it autonomously. The event involved three major mining pools: AntPool, ViaBTC, and Foundry USA.
The technical situation began when the network temporarily split into two competing chains of equal length. On one branch, AntPool mined block 941881 first, followed shortly by ViaBTC adding block 941882. Simultaneously, on the parallel chain, Foundry USA mined its own versions of both blocks 941881 and 941882, creating an active dispute between two valid parallel chains.
The resolution came when Foundry USA chained blocks 941883, 941884, and 941885 consecutively, consolidating a streak of seven successive blocks between heights 941879 and 941885. According to Bitcoin's consensus rules, the chain with the greatest accumulated proof of work prevails, so the network automatically discarded the AntPool and ViaBTC branch. Their blocks became orphaned or stale blocks with no reward or validity on the main chain.
Experts emphasize that such short-term reorganizations are considered normal for the Bitcoin network. These rare events occur due to high block propagation speed among miner pools and are seen as a natural consequence of Bitcoin's Proof-of-Work-based consensus mechanism rather than a threat to the system's security. The fact that the tie extended for an additional cycle makes this a two-block reorganization, which is considerably rarer than single-block ones that occur periodically on the network.
The data was shared by Bitcoin researcher known as b10c, who reconstructed the precise sequence of the dispute among the three pools. This case illustrates how Bitcoin's design handles competitive scenarios among miners without requiring any external intervention.
