Bitcoin is approaching block 961,632, the point where BIP-110 enforcing nodes start rejecting blocks that don't signal support for the proposal, even with signaling stuck at just 2.45%. Large mining pools have refused to back the change, and Strategy founder Michael Saylor has told backers to stand down. The standoff could spin off a minority chain, but the dominant Bitcoin network is expected to keep running without disruption.
BIP-110 Nears Its Mandatory Signaling Window
Bitcoin sat at block 961,289 on Thursday morning, roughly 343 blocks from the point where BIP-110's mandatory signaling phase begins. Signaling support stood at just 2.45%, according to the bip110.org/monitor dashboard, which counted 41 supporting blocks among 1,674 in the current period. The mandatory window was projected to begin Aug. 8 at approximately 5:16 p.m. EDT.
Next, the rule itself: BIP-110, formally the Reduced Data Temporary Softfork, would clamp down on Bitcoin's data rules for about one year, limiting the size of data elements used by Ordinals inscriptions and several token protocols. It is distributed mainly through Bitcoin Knots, an alternative node implementation, and Bitcoin Core has not adopted it. Ordinary bitcoin payments and Lightning Network transfers are designed to keep working under the proposal.
A Minority Chain Could Break Away
The real dispute is over the activation method, not just the restrictions: the proposal sets a 55% miner signaling threshold, far below the roughly 95% level associated with several earlier Bitcoin upgrades. It also tells enforcing nodes to reject nonsignaling blocks after block 961,632 even if those blocks carry nearly all of the network's computing power. Large mining pools, including Foundry, Antpool, F2pool and Viabtc, have refused to signal.
If enforcement proceeds, most miners and Bitcoin Core users are expected to remain on the existing chain, while BIP-110 nodes could peel away onto a smaller one. With support hovering near 2.5%, that minority chain could crawl at first, and confirmations could take hours before mining difficulty resets. The dominant chain should keep processing blocks without meaningful interruption.
Saylor Tells Backers to Stand Down
However, resistance is not limited to mining pools. Strategy founder Michael Saylor has publicly rejected BIP-110 and recently told backers to "stand down." A large amount of bitcoin now sits inside exchange-traded funds, corporate treasuries and institutional custody platforms that will not automatically recognize a minority asset.
Echoes of the 2017 Fork Frenzy
Bitcoin Cash split from Bitcoin on Aug. 1, 2017 at block 478,558 and went on to secure miners, exchange listings and liquid trading. More than four dozen projects claimed links to Bitcoin's history during the 2017 and early 2018 fork frenzy, but most vanished once developers, miners or trading interest disappeared.
Two more checkpoints lie ahead: block 963,648, the final possible lock-in point, and block 965,664, where full data limits could activate on any chain that secures lock-in. For now, ordinary bitcoin holders are not required to take any action.
Source: Bitcoin News
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