TFTC: A Bitcoin Podcast The Difficulty Adjustment (and Target) | Pierre Rochard, Center of Hash E006
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Sep 2, 2025 
Pierre Rochard, CEO of the Bitcoin Bond Company, dives into the fascinating world of Bitcoin's difficulty target and adjustment. He explains how these mechanisms not only impact the energy consumption of the network but also play a crucial role in transaction finality and Bitcoin's fixed supply schedule. Rochard discusses the intricacies of Bitcoin mining and the balance needed to maintain network security, along with future innovations in mining economics. His insights provide a comprehensive look at how these elements influence the stability of Bitcoin as a decentralized currency.
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Two Core Functions Of Mining
- Bitcoin mining serves two functions: issuing new coins and ordering transactions for finality.
- Pierre Rochard frames issuance as transferring from a fixed 21M reservoir into spendable UTXOs.
Miners Act As A Decentralized Clock
- Miners provide a decentralized clock that batches transactions and prevents double-spends.
- This sequencing role is essential for transaction finality without a central authority.
Verify Blocks Locally Before Building On Them
- Include transactions to capture fees because miners are paid via transaction fees plus issuance.
- Run a node to verify coinbase and transaction validity before relying on mined blocks.
