Bitcoin's BIP-110 Setback: Mandatory Fork Collapses Amid Hashpower Shortage

The contentious BIP-110 proposal on the Bitcoin network has ground to a halt after producing just two blocks, as a severe lack of hashpower support causes the gap with the main chain to widen rapidly.

Critical Divergence in Mandatory Signaling Impasse

The BIP-110-enforcing branch stalled at block 961,633 on Sunday, having produced only two blocks, while the non-enforcing chain advanced to 961,721, widening the gap to 88 blocks.

■According to the BIP-110 monitor, the branch's latest block was mined approximately 12 hours prior.

■Only 51 of the preceding 2,016 blocks, or 2.53%, signaled support for the upgrade.

■A pseudonymous mining group named Roughnecks mined the branch's first two blocks using Ocean’s DATUM mining protocol.

Hashpower Crisis Pre-Difficulty Adjustment

Under the proposal, mandatory signaling must continue through block 963,647. However, the enforcing branch must mine through the remainder of the 2,016-block adjustment period before its difficulty can retarget.

■Without substantially more hashpower, progress remains painfully slow as the difficulty stays at Bitcoin's full network level.

■BIP-110 nodes reject blocks that do not signal via version bit 4, while ordinary Bitcoin nodes accept both.

■This scenario highlights the sheer impossibility of pushing a protocol change without the economic majority backing it.

Industry Titans Sound Consensus Alarms

The proposal faces staunch opposition from prominent Bitcoin advocates who fear it undermines the network's integrity. Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor argued that while the objectives are shared, the approach threatens Bitcoin's neutral rules.

■Blockstream CEO Adam Back warned that the consensus-level change could damage Bitcoin's credibility.

■Back highlighted the risk that certain unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) could potentially become unspendable.

Berk Arıcan Tokenomics Analysis: This event is a textbook "death spiral" scenario for any protocol attempt. A chain losing hashpower without an inflationary adjustment to supply-demand mechanics collapses instantly from a security standpoint. The fact that BIP-110 launched with only 2.53% support proves the market has zero economic confidence in this protocol change. Once the incentive structure fails for miners, that chain's tokenomics is effectively trash. This proves again how resilient the main Bitcoin chain is against such speculative fork attempts.