Key facts
- BIP-110, a proposal to temporarily restrict non-financial data on the Bitcoin blockchain, has a deadline in early August.
- Miner support for BIP-110 is currently at zero, and overall adoption remains very low.
- The proposal aims to refocus Bitcoin on payments by limiting data-carrying methods like OP_RETURN.
- Critics argue BIP-110 censors valid, fee-paying transactions and sets a dangerous precedent.
- Influential figures like Michael Saylor and Adam Back have voiced opposition to the proposal.
- BIP-110 uses a user-activated soft fork mechanism, requiring 55% miner signaling for activation.
A contentious proposal known as BIP-110, which seeks to temporarily limit non-financial data on the Bitcoin blockchain, is approaching its early August deadline with minimal support from miners and nodes. The proposal, formally titled the Reduced Data Temporary Soft Fork, aims to refocus Bitcoin on its payment function by tightening limits on methods like OP_RETURN and data pushes, which are currently used to store various types of data on-chain.
Supporters of BIP-110 argue that it will reduce node burden and keep Bitcoin focused on monetary use. However, critics contend that the proposal improperly censors valid, fee-paying transactions and sets a dangerous precedent by turning a spam dispute into a consensus rule. Prominent figures in the Bitcoin community, including Michael Saylor and Adam Back, have publicly opposed the measure.
Data from the BIP 110 signaling monitor indicates that miner support has never risen above approximately 1% and currently stands at zero, with no major mining pools backing the initiative. Node adoption is also reportedly in the low single digits, primarily carried by Bitcoin Knots software. The proposal utilizes a user-activated soft fork mechanism, which requires a 55% miner-signaling threshold, significantly lower than the traditional 95%.
Despite the low support, the signaling period for BIP-110 is set to conclude soon, with activation projected for September. Experts believe that with such limited backing, BIP-110 is unlikely to result in a network-wide change but may instead lead to the creation of a small minority chain.