The breakaway Bitcoin chain launched by supporters of the contentious BIP-110 proposal has effectively stalled after producing just two blocks, according to CoinDesk. The fork inherited Bitcoin’s mining difficulty but attracted only 2.53% of recent hashrate support, leaving block times measured in hours.
BIP-110 Fork Activity Grinds to a Halt
The minority chain now sits at block 961,633 while the original Bitcoin network has advanced to block 961,681, with no miner stepping forward to produce a third block. Despite the shutdown, the incident highlights the ongoing debate around Bitcoin’s block space usage. Rhino Bitcoin Adds 500M SPLD Tokens to Balance Sheet While Keeping Bitcoin-Only Mission shows how some firms are navigating related on-chain decisions.
BIP-110 sought to temporarily prohibit non-financial data—like images and text—from being inscribed in Bitcoin transactions. Proponents argued this would cut congestion and lower fees, while critics claimed it violated users’ freedom to use paid block space. The fork’s failure follows Bitcoin BIP-110 Mandatory Signaling Starts With Miner Support Below 3%, signaling that miner backing never approached the required threshold.
Although BIP-110’s activation was designed to require a 90% signal period, the splinter chain’s tiny hashrate made it virtually impossible to meet the deadline. Developers had earlier warned about replay-style risks for users attempting to sell fork coins while spending main-chain Bitcoin, as reported in Bitcoin Holders Risk Losing Real BTC if They Sell Coins from BIP-110 Fork, Developer Warns.
What the Stalled Fork Means for Bitcoin Users
With the forked chain essentially dead, the replay risk threat is now largely theoretical. However, the episode underscores the community’s resistance to protocol changes that alter Bitcoin’s permissionless nature. Observers note that any future forks would need substantial pre-coordination and miner support to avoid a similar fate.
