Just wondering if anyone has noticed a trend of longer block times when the price drops. I presume some proportion of miners become unprofitable. And that of those - some might need to convert to fiat in the short term to cover costs and so pause mining.
I don't think there is a correlation between the Bitcoin price and the mining activity of a miner. A miner can stop his mining activity only if the price reaches to a level where mining becomes unprofitable. Otherwise 10-12% volatility doesn't create a panic in mining community.
When a person invests so much money into mining equipments, he usually does it with a long term goal. So a price correction usually doesn't scare the mining community at all.