⚙ Since the launch, there has been a computational error in the Bitcoin mining algorithm, said researcher Loïc Morel. The vulnerability makes an "time distortion" attack possible.

The malfunction is related to the difficulty adjustment mechanism, specifically the calculation of interval times. The error causes the adjustment periods not to overlap — the timestamp of the last block of one period is not considered when calculating the next.

By manipulating timestamps, a miner with high computational power can reduce the difficulty to a level where up to six blocks are created per second ( instead of one every 10 minutes ).

This would allow an attacker to collect block rewards at a rapid pace, overloading the network and devaluing the validation process.

The issue is intended to be fixed by the BIP-0054 soft fork.