Saylor urges BIP-110 backers to stand down before possible fork

Michael Saylor, executive chairman of MicroStrategy, urged backers of BIP-110 to stand down, citing block-by-block signaling that shows the proposal cannot reach the 55% miner threshold before a mandatory window opens near block 961,632, projected for early August.

BIP-110 would limit how much non-financial data can be attached to Bitcoin transactions for about a year while leaving ordinary payments and Lightning transactions unaffected. The caps would restrict tools that embed images, tokens or large OP_RETURN messages, such as Ordinals inscriptions.

Supporters, centered around the Bitcoin Knots software and the Ocean mining pool, say the limit would reduce the resource burden on full nodes and curb fee pressure from data-heavy transactions. Opponents argue the rules would require the network to assess the purpose of transactions rather than simply processing valid ones.

Under the standard signaling process, 55% of mining power must signal support within a defined block window to lock in a change. At block 961,022, BIP-110 had 38 signaling blocks out of roughly 1,400 in the period, about 2.70%. Major pools including Foundry, AntPool, F2Pool and ViaBTC had not signaled.

Because the voluntary threshold appears unreachable at current rates, the proposal will enter a phase around block 961,632 in which nodes enforcing BIP-110 would reject blocks that do not signal support. Miners that continue following current rules would keep producing the existing main chain. Nodes enforcing BIP-110 could follow a different, smaller chain.

Saylor posted on X: “At 961,022, BIP-110 has 38 signals (2.70%). Its 55% voluntary threshold is impossible. At 961,632, BIP-110 nodes reject non-signaling blocks. Unless major miners reverse, Bitcoin continues normally while BIP-110 stalls or forks into irrelevance. Its backers should stand down.”

In a mid-July post titled “110 Reasons BIP 110 Is a Bad Idea,” he said he supports goals such as lower node costs and protecting Bitcoin’s monetary function but opposes rules that judge transaction intent. He warned that filtering by perceived purpose could be applied later to privacy tools, custody methods or new financial contracts.

The mandatory window is expected between Aug. 7 and Aug. 9, depending on block times. Community monitors are tracking block-by-block signaling counts and statements from major miners and Bitcoin Knots developers as the deadline approaches. If major pools do not change their signaling stance, BIP-110 will not reach the 55% threshold and nodes enforcing the new rules would follow a separate chain.