Key facts
- Bitcoin's BIP-110 branch stalled after producing only two blocks, while the main chain advanced significantly.
- The stalled branch is due to minimal miner support, with only 2.53% of hashpower signaling for BIP-110.
- BIP-110 aims to temporarily restrict non-financial data storage in Bitcoin transactions.
- Proponents are pursuing BIP-110 as a user-activated soft fork (UASF).
- The minority chain faces extremely slow block times and cannot adjust its difficulty for an estimated 350 days.
Bitcoin's BIP-110 branch stalled at block 961,633 on Sunday after producing only two blocks, while the non-enforcing chain advanced to 961,721, widening the gap to 88 blocks. The divergence began after BIP-110 entered mandatory signaling at block 961,632 on Saturday, with only 2.53% of the preceding 2,016 blocks signaling support. BIP-110 nodes reject blocks that do not signal through version bit 4, while ordinary Bitcoin nodes accept both. Under the proposal, mandatory signaling continues through block 963,647. The enforcing branch must mine through the remainder of the 2,016-block adjustment period before its difficulty can adjust, making progress slow without substantially more hashpower. Prominent Bitcoin advocates, including Michael Saylor and Adam Back, have opposed the proposal's approach and potential consequences.