Key facts
- Bitcoin's BIP-110 upgrade has stalled.
- The BIP-110 branch produced only two blocks.
- Insufficient miner support caused the stall.
- The BIP-110 chain fell significantly behind the main chain.
- Proponents are now pursuing a user-activated soft fork approach.
The Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 110, a significant upgrade intended to introduce a new consensus mechanism, has effectively stalled. The proposal managed to produce only two blocks before its progress was halted due to a critical lack of support from Bitcoin miners. This minimal output placed the BIP-110 chain far behind the main Bitcoin blockchain, rendering it non-viable in its current form. The failure to gain traction among miners, who are essential for validating transactions and securing the network, signifies a major setback for the BIP-110 initiative. In response to this lack of miner consensus, the proponents of BIP-110 are now shifting their strategy. They are actively exploring a user-activated soft fork (UASF) as an alternative pathway to implement the proposed changes. A UASF would rely on the consensus of node operators and users to activate the new rules, bypassing the need for widespread miner adoption. The success of this new approach remains to be seen, as it presents its own set of challenges and requires significant coordination among the broader Bitcoin community.