XBT ticker grab and miner revolt disrupt BTCB2 minority chain

BTCB2’s minority chain entered a crisis after an unknown actor registered the XBT ticker for a different token and a coalition of mining pools refused to build on the chain following a governance patch activated last weekend. The events began on Monday and led to stalled blocks, ledger splits and trading suspensions.

The ticker registration occurred when several small exchanges and a token registry listed a new asset under the XBT symbol. Within 24 hours, market participants reported routing and display errors, with some wallets showing the new token instead of BTCB2 balances.

A coalition of mining pools, including two of the chain’s larger pools, announced they would continue mining on a prior software version unless the patch was rolled back or a new vote held. The pools issued a statement citing concerns over the patch’s implementation and a change to the block reward payout formula.

As miners split their hashpower, block production slowed, orphaned blocks increased and some nodes experienced ledger reorganizations as segments of the network followed incompatible rules.

Exchanges and custodians paused activity. BitGateway halted BTCB2 deposits, withdrawals and trading pairs labeled XBT/BTCB2 to prevent miscredited accounts. “We paused activity to avoid miscrediting user accounts while we verify which asset corresponds to the original BTCB2 ledger,” a BitGateway spokesperson said. Other custodians advised clients to avoid moving coins until node syncs stabilized.

The project’s lead developer blamed the registry listing for amplifying uncertainty among node operators and miners, and said the team had published the patch two weeks earlier and run several testnet cycles before activation.

Trading volumes for BTCB2 fell about 40% on affected exchanges in the first 48 hours, and several over-the-counter desks stopped quoting the asset. No confirmed reports of large-scale theft or exploitation emerged in the first three days, though analysts cautioned a prolonged split could increase the risk of replay attacks or double spends.

Node operators reported inconsistent block headers and mismatched chain tips, requiring manual interventions or alternative clients. Mining revenue for the dissenting pools declined as their hashpower worked on a branch with lower confirmation throughput. Wallet providers updated asset metadata to distinguish the original BTCB2 ledger from the newly listed token.

A neutral mining consortium urged both sides to resume talks and to coordinate on a temporary soft fork or rollback to restore consensus on basic transaction processing.

BTCB2 split from a larger Bitcoin-derived project several years ago and has a smaller ecosystem of miners, developers and exchanges. The chain has relied on informal signaling for protocol changes. The XBT code is an informal ticker used by Bitcoin and some derived assets; control over a common ticker affects how exchanges and wallets display and route coins.