Bitcoin's design promises resilience through decentralization, yet physical infrastructure creates hidden dependencies. We present the first longitudinal study of Bitcoin's resilience to infrastructure failures using 11 years of P2P network data (2014-2025), 658 submarine cables, and 68 verified cable fault events. Using a Buldyrev-style cascade model with a country-level physical layer (225 countries, 354 submarine cable edges, 325 land border edges), we find that Bitcoin's clearnet percolation threshold $p_c \approx 0.72$-$0.92$ for random cable failures, declining 22% from $p_c \approx 0.92$ (2014-2017) to a minimum of $p_c = 0.72$ in 2021 during peak mining concentration. Targeted attacks reduce $p_c$ to 0.05-0.20. To address the 64% of nodes using Tor with unobservable locations, we develop a 4-layer multiplex model incorporating Tor relay infrastructure. Tor relay bandwidth concentrates in well-connected European countries, increasing resilience by $Δp_c \approx +0.02$-$+0.10$ rather than introducing fragility. Empirical validation shows 87% of cable faults caused less than 5% node impact. We contribute: (1) a multiplex percolation framework for overlay-underlay coupling with a 4-layer Tor relay model; (2) the first empirical measurement of Bitcoin's physical-layer resilience over a decade; and (3) evidence that Tor adoption amplifies resilience with distributional bounds under partial observability.
翻译:比特币的设计通过去中心化承诺了韧性,但物理基础设施却创造了隐藏的依赖关系。我们利用11年的P2P网络数据(2014-2025年)、658条海底光缆和68个已验证的光缆故障事件,首次对比特币应对基础设施故障的韧性进行了纵向研究。通过使用具有国家级物理层(225个国家,354条海底光缆边,325条陆地边境边)的Buldyrev级联模型,我们发现比特币明网在随机光缆故障下的渗流阈值 $p_c \approx 0.72$-$0.92$,从 $p_c \approx 0.92$(2014-2017年)下降了22%,在2021年挖矿集中度达到峰值时降至最低点 $p_c = 0.72$。针对性攻击可将 $p_c$ 降至0.05-0.20。针对64%使用Tor且位置不可观测的节点,我们开发了一个包含Tor中继基础设施的4层复用模型。Tor中继带宽集中在连接良好的欧洲国家,使韧性增加了 $Δp_c \approx +0.02$-$+0.10$,而非引入脆弱性。实证验证表明,87%的光缆故障导致的节点影响小于5%。我们的贡献在于:(1)一个用于覆盖层-底层耦合的复用渗流框架,包含一个4层Tor中继模型;(2)首次对比特币物理层韧性进行了长达十年的实证测量;(3)证据表明,在部分可观测性条件下,Tor的采用通过分布边界放大了韧性。