Strategy's Saylor Tells BIP-110 Backers to 'Stand Down' Before Fork

Michael Saylor, executive chairman of Strategy, told supporters of a contested Bitcoin proposal called BIP-110 to “stand down” this week, warning that the change could split the network if enforced. The proposal aims to cap the amount of non-financial data users can attach to Bitcoin transactions, such as images and tokens via Ordinals inscriptions. Saylor noted that as of block 961,022, only 38 out of roughly 1,400 blocks in the current signaling period had supported BIP-110, representing just 2.7% of mining power. The proposal requires 55% miner support to lock in voluntarily, a threshold Saylor called impossible.

BIP-110 would limit unrelated data embedded in transactions for about a year, while leaving regular payments and Lightning Network activity unaffected. Supporters, including the Bitcoin Knots software team and Ocean mining pool, argue the change would reduce node load and lower fees driven by data-heavy transactions. Critics, including Saylor, contend that it would set a precedent for Bitcoin to judge the purpose of transactions rather than simply processing them.

Because the voluntary threshold appears unattainable, BIP-110 moves into a mandatory signaling phase around block 961,632, expected in early August. At that point, nodes running BIP-110 rules will reject blocks that do not signal support. If major miners do not switch, the main Bitcoin chain will continue as normal, while enforcing nodes may split off onto a separate chain.

Saylor has previously outlined objections to BIP-110, arguing that Bitcoin’s rules should treat all transactions equally and that filtering based on perceived purpose could later threaten privacy tools or financial contracts built on the network.

Observers should watch for any changes in signaling from major mining pools like Foundry, AntPool, F2Pool, and ViaBTC, which have so far not supported the proposal. The mandatory window opens near block 961,632, likely between August 7 and August 9.

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/featured/strategys-saylor-tells-bip-110-backers-to-stand-down-before-fork/