This weekend (at block 961 632 of the Bitcoin network), part of the network will voluntarily cut itself off from the rest.
Probably nothing will happen.
But it’s been over 3 years that the debate has dragged on: should we be allowed to store something other than transactions in Bitcoin? Images, text, the famous inscriptions.. for some it’s pure pollution, for others: freedom. Hence BIP-110, a proposal to limit this data for 1 year.
Well.. so far nothing crazy, and proposals there are all the time.
The problem is the method, because..
Normally, to change a rule in Bitcoin, you need a massive signal from miners. Historically, we’re talking about 90 to 95% of blocks. BIP-110 set its bar at only 55%. Already very low.
Result? Less than 3% of blocks signal support for this proposal. In any system, that’s called a “no.”
Except that its supporters decided to push ahead. Starting from block 961 632, expected between today and tomorrow, their nodes will reject all blocks that do not support the measure. So basically... all the blocks.
They’ll end up alone on their own version of the chain that follows their rules. While the overwhelming majority of the computing power carries on without them, on the current chain.
That’s where the headlines you saw about "the Bitcoin fork" come from—they’re VERY exaggerated. A chain that almost nobody mines is a chain that doesn’t move. For everyone else, nothing changes: regular nodes follow the chain with the most accumulated work. As they always have.
We already lived through this scenario in 2017 with SegWit2x. Actors with far more power wanted to impose their version of the rules. They ended up backing down.
And that’s actually the real subject of the weekend. Not the threat, but rather the demonstration. On $BTC nobody imposes a rule without convincing.
And less than 3%—that’s not convincing.
#BIP110ForkSignalingExpectedThisWeekend
Probably nothing will happen.
But it’s been over 3 years that the debate has dragged on: should we be allowed to store something other than transactions in Bitcoin? Images, text, the famous inscriptions.. for some it’s pure pollution, for others: freedom. Hence BIP-110, a proposal to limit this data for 1 year.
Well.. so far nothing crazy, and proposals there are all the time.
The problem is the method, because..
Normally, to change a rule in Bitcoin, you need a massive signal from miners. Historically, we’re talking about 90 to 95% of blocks. BIP-110 set its bar at only 55%. Already very low.
Result? Less than 3% of blocks signal support for this proposal. In any system, that’s called a “no.”
Except that its supporters decided to push ahead. Starting from block 961 632, expected between today and tomorrow, their nodes will reject all blocks that do not support the measure. So basically... all the blocks.
They’ll end up alone on their own version of the chain that follows their rules. While the overwhelming majority of the computing power carries on without them, on the current chain.
That’s where the headlines you saw about "the Bitcoin fork" come from—they’re VERY exaggerated. A chain that almost nobody mines is a chain that doesn’t move. For everyone else, nothing changes: regular nodes follow the chain with the most accumulated work. As they always have.
We already lived through this scenario in 2017 with SegWit2x. Actors with far more power wanted to impose their version of the rules. They ended up backing down.
And that’s actually the real subject of the weekend. Not the threat, but rather the demonstration. On $BTC nobody imposes a rule without convincing.
And less than 3%—that’s not convincing.
#BIP110ForkSignalingExpectedThisWeekend