On the time of writing at 8:40 a.m. Jap time on July 27, the chain tip stood at block 959842. Roughly 1,790 blocks stay earlier than block 961632, the purpose the place nodes working BIP-110 software program start rejecting blocks that don’t sign model bit 4. At Bitcoin’s common ten-minute tempo, that top ought to arrive on or round Aug. 9, 2026.
BIP-110, formally referred to as the Decreased Knowledge Non permanent Softfork, proposes limiting the scale of sure information fields utilized in Bitcoin transactions. The foundations primarily goal Ordinals-style inscriptions, outsized OP_RETURN payloads, and comparable> BIP-110 signaling barely registered, hovering beneath 1% throughout some intervals. Since then, help has climbed into the three% vary. That’s a significant enhance in share phrases, however Bitcoin activations are pushed by who’s signaling, not merely what number of blocks carry the bit.
Ocean continues to account for many of the signaling exercise. The remainder of the hashpower is constructed nearly completely by unbiased miners and smaller operators. The miners at the moment signaling for BIP-110 embrace Roughnecks, SoV, BIP110 Generic, Barefoot Mining, 234 Alberta, 888, Peer to Peer Cash, Black Jade Advisors, Sazmining, Crestmont Materials, Datum Miner, SpammersGFY, Moonwalk, PyBLOCK-Datum, Simply For Krypto, and JAMIN.
In the meantime, Foundry, Antpool, ViaBTC, and F2pool, the 4 swimming pools accountable for many of the community’s hashrate, have proven little motion. Till a kind of operators adjustments course, gradual will increase from smaller members are unlikely to materially change the activation image.
The software program ecosystem displays the identical divide. The one implementation imposing the proposal is a Bitcoin Knots fork. Reachable nodes working that software program stand at round 22% right now, leaving enforcement concentrated amongst a comparatively smaller share of the community in comparison with Bitcoin Core nodes.
Foundry Holds the Largest Swing Vote
Among the many main mining swimming pools, Foundry has taken an fascinating method.
Round July 17, 2026, the corporate requested prospects to vote on whether or not the pool ought to start signaling for BIP-110. Reasonably than making the choice internally, Foundry tied the result on to its shoppers’ hashrate, based on an e mail despatched to pool members.
“The voting window on Foundry USA Pool™ will likely be open by means of the signaling window shut date, forward of block 961,632,” Foundry USA pool wrote on its BIP-110 useful resource web page.
Voting energy is predicated on every buyer’s common hashrate. Shoppers who don’t reply are robotically counted as “No,” and Foundry’s default place stays to sign in opposition to the proposal. Provided that “Sure” votes exceed 51% of taking part weighted hashrate will the pool change all of its blocks to signaling help.
That call issues as a result of Foundry represents between roughly 23% and 33% of Bitcoin’s international hashrate, relying on the measurement interval. If a pool of that dimension flipped in a single day, the signaling charts would change instantly.
As of right now, there was no indication that such a shift has occurred.
Foundry has additionally averted endorsing both facet publicly. As a substitute, its shopper useful resource web page hyperlinks to the BIP specification, the unique bitcoin-dev dialogue, criticism from Jameson Lopp, and commentary from Adam Again, Michael Saylor, Luke Dashjr, and others, permitting prospects to guage the proposal themselves.
What Occurs if the Window Opens With out Broad Help?
The mechanics develop into far more consequential as soon as block 961632 arrives.
If present signaling ranges persist, nodes imposing BIP-110 will reject blocks mined by many of the community as a result of they lack the required model bit. These nodes will as an alternative comply with the comparatively small variety of signaling blocks.
Legacy nodes will behave in a different way. They’ll proceed accepting each signaling and non-signaling blocks whereas following the chain with the best collected proof-of-work, as Bitcoin has all the time performed. A number of unbiased observers have constructed devoted monitoring websites that observe activation parameters, with some even simulating how the method may unfold below completely different situations.
That creates the potential for two competing chains, however not two equally viable ones. The chain acknowledged by Bitcoin Core and mined by the overwhelming majority of hashrate would proceed producing blocks at its regular tempo. A minority chain consisting solely of signaling miners would advance far more slowly till reaching its subsequent 2,016-block problem adjustment.
That potential end result explains why a lot of the talk has shifted away from inscriptions and towards the activation course of itself.
A Completely different Activation Technique
BIP-110 follows a deployment path that differs from Bitcoin’s two most up-to-date main tender forks.
The proposal launched on Dec. 1, 2025, utilizing a modified BIP-9 course of. It required 1,109 of two,016 blocks, or 55%, signaling throughout a single problem interval to lock in early. If that threshold was by no means reached, the proposal advances towards a compelled lock-in at block 963,648 earlier than activating one problem interval later at block 965,664.
Between these milestones sits the obligatory signaling window.
From block 961,632 by means of 963,647, nodes imposing BIP-110 reject each block that doesn’t sign model bit 4, no matter how a lot proof-of-work helps it. That method differs from each Segwit and Taproot, the place non-upgraded nodes continued accepting the strongest proof-of-work chain all through activation.
The closest historic comparability is the 2017 BIP-148 user-activated tender fork (UASF), which additionally tried to stress miners by means of obligatory signaling necessities. That confrontation finally ended with out a lasting chain cut up after adequate hashrate shifted earlier than the deadline. BIP-148’s UASF finally served extra as leverage than precise activation.
Whether or not BIP-110 follows the identical path relies upon largely on whether or not a number of main swimming pools change place earlier than Aug. 9.
Why Supporters Need the Change
BIP-110 was authored below the identify Dathon Ohm. Earlier variations circulated below the BIP-444 designation earlier than being accepted into the BIPs repository.
BIP-110 Supporters argue that inscriptions, BRC-20-style tokens, and more and more giant OP_RETURN payloads elevate the price of working a full node, distort Bitcoin’s payment market, and shift community assets away from Bitcoin’s supposed function as a cost and settlement system.
“Eradicating guidelines is a hardfork,” BIP-110 supporter and Bitcoin Knots developer Luke Dashjr defined on X in early July. “That features scheduled guidelines like subsidy halvings, and sure, even BIP110. Rejecting BIP110 is a contentious hardfork try.”
Dashjr added:
“And in contrast to softforks, hardforks want consensus to succeed. There isn’t any consensus on rejecting BIP110.”
Opponents usually agree that spam exists however disagree over whether or not BIP-110’s activation mechanism is the suitable resolution. “OP_RETURN blockspace utilization hasn’t elevated a lot since Bitcoin Core v30 was launched. Outsized OP_RETURNs could also be up barely, however nonetheless they devour lower than 0.1% of blockspace,” Alex Thorn, Galaxy Digital’s head of analysis, wrote on X.
Thorn continued:
“BIP-110 is an especially disruptive & harmful response given the tiny affect from these prunable [transactions].”
The Closing Days Might Nonetheless Change Every little thing
The following two weeks will probably come down to 3 developments.
The primary is whether or not one of many largest mining swimming pools begins signaling help. The second is whether or not main exchanges publicly make clear which chain they’d acknowledge if competing chains emerge after block 961,632. The third is what miners really do as soon as the obligatory window opens, as a result of signaling percentages main as much as the deadline solely inform a part of the story.
The pattern has been transferring in BIP-110’s favor, climbing from beneath 1% to roughly 3% because the deadline approaches. Even so, the proposal stays removed from demonstrating broad miner backing. Except one in every of Bitcoin’s largest swimming pools adjustments course within the days forward, the obligatory signaling window seems set to open with help nonetheless concentrated amongst a comparatively small portion of the community.
