Bitcoin is working as designed every second.
Discussion
well...
0-conf utxos are not bitcoins and the mempools mean nothing, so arguably bitcoin only proofs it's still alive when a valid block is found
Bitcoin is alive whenever it is verifiable, distributable, decentralized. I can pass an opendime or satscard to someone and hand over value with immediate final settlement without a new block being produced.
Bitcoin doesn't work, it simply records proof of work.
Schrodinger's Corn 🌽
What "works" is universal consensus of historical on chain transactions. The proof is in the pudding.
(Yes, the relay is also in the pudding.)