BIP-444 sparks conflict among Bitcoin developers
A fierce debate erupted after veteran developer Luke Dashjr published BIP-444, sparking strong reactions in the Bitcoin community.
The proposal would impose a one-year soft fork that limits the data allowed in transactions. Its goal is to curb illegal content on-chain following the Bitcoin Core v30 update.
The most controversial wording states refusing the fork “may carry moral or legal consequences” and could lead to “a network split and the emergence of a new coin like Bitcoin Cash.” Users called these lines “totalitarian” and “an attack on Bitcoin.”
Peter Todd and Alex Thorn of Galaxy Digital called the initiative “a direct threat to the principle of voluntary consensus.” Todd even broadcast a transaction embedding the full text of BIP-444 to show the limits can be bypassed.
BitMEX Research warned the measure could incentivize adversaries to publish banned data and disrupt the network. For background on the exchange see our BitMEX reviews.
Supporters, including Dashjr, say the proposal does not create legal risk but highlights potential liability for storing illegal content. He says it aims to protect users from legal risk while a long-term fix is developed.
Framed as a one-year stopgap with a possible extension, many fear it would set a censorship precedent on the Bitcoin network.
If BIP-444 is adopted, it would be the first major consensus change since Taproot (2021). If miners and nodes split, a new fork in 2026 is possible – one that could reshape Bitcoin’s decentralization.
You can learn more about what a soft fork is and how it differs from a hard fork in our article.
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