Key Takeaways:
Blockstream CEO Adam Back dismissed the BIP-110 soft fork as a failed attempt, predicting the proposal will collapse within weeks of its August lock-in deadline as miner support remains below 1%.
Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 110, which would temporarily cap arbitrary data embedded in Bitcoin transactions to target Ordinals-style inscriptions, has secured backing from just 0.86% of blocks in the current difficulty period — far below the 55% threshold required for activation, according to signaling data. The proposal faces a mandatory signaling window beginning around block 961,632 in early August 2026, after which miners must formally indicate support or rejection.
"Or don't flip the bit => nothing happens, repel idiocracy," Back said on X on July 22, responding to a "flip the bit" activation plan proposed by Bitcoin infrastructure firm Start9. The firm had argued that flipping the bit costs roughly 0.1% of a miner's annual revenue and that refusing risks a chain split, stranded Lightning Network counterparties and lost fee-paying users. Back rejected the framing outright, calling the pushback circular and citing what he termed an IETF-like consensus process that weighs only valid technical objections.
The debate has split Bitcoin's developer community for months. MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor warned that the change could sacrifice protocol neutrality, while other developers frame the fight as part of a broader anti-spam debate over what the blockchain should carry. Back predicted the fork would stall almost immediately after mandatory signaling begins, comparing the abandoned chain to a "Pompeii chain" — frozen as a monument to the attempt's failure. Bitcoin traded near $65,495 on July 23, holding within a narrowing range with support at $63,800 and resistance at $67,433, according to CoinGecko data.
Start9 framed the activation as risk-free reconnaissance, arguing that miners could test the proposal without permanent consequences. Back dismissed the premise, saying the signal simply expires without broad backing. The exchange extended an earlier debate over whether Satoshi Nakamoto would have supported BIP-110, with Back rejecting that premise as well and questioning whether anyone can speak for Bitcoin's pseudonymous creator.
Major mining pools have largely stayed out of the effort so far. Exchanges and node operators are watching the deadline closely, wary that a contentious activation could split the chain they must support. Back has previously downplayed related claims that the network would forcibly exclude noncompliant miners, pointing critics toward his own fork risk warning for further context.
The mandatory signaling window opens in early August 2026. If miner support remains below the 55% threshold, BIP-110 will fail to lock in, and the proposal effectively dies. Back predicted the fork attempt would collapse "within weeks" of that deadline, with miners having little economic incentive to continue mining a chain that falls behind in cumulative work. The outcome will determine whether Bitcoin's governance process can absorb contentious proposals without fracturing — a test the network has faced before and will face again.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
