Foundry to let miners vote on BIP-110 soft fork with hashrate weights

Foundry Digital, a prominent Bitcoin mining pool operator based in Rochester, New York, announced it will allow its mining clients to determine the pool’s signaling stance on the controversial BIP-110 proposal. Clients will cast their votes using their respective hashrate, directly influencing the pool’s action regarding the upgrade.

BIP-110: Restricting non-monetary data

BIP-110, short for Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 110, aims to address the rising volume of arbitrary and non-monetary data being stored on the Bitcoin network. If implemented, the proposal would initiate a soft fork, resulting in backward-compatible rule changes that cap the amount of such data included in transactions.

The proposal is also known as the “reduced data temporary soft fork.” Key rules include limiting most new outputs to 34 bytes, reestablishing an 83-byte limit on OP_RETURN outputs, and prohibiting data pushes above 256 bytes.

Mini dictionary: OP_RETURN, a script opcode in Bitcoin transactions, allows users to store small amounts of arbitrary data on the blockchain, often used for metadata or simple messages.

Supporters contend that these measures would reinforce Bitcoin’s design as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Conversely, critics argue the proposal transforms a policy debate into a technical consensus change and could lead to the exclusion of transactions that pay network fees.

“It’s one of the more actively debated proposals in Bitcoin right now, and miners play a direct role in whether it activates,” Foundry stated, stressing the importance of miner participation in network governance.

Among the high-profile opponents are MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor and Blockstream co-founder Adam Back, who have publicly raised concerns about the implications for transaction validation.

How voting will work

Foundry outlined that each participating miner’s vote will be weighted according to their average hashrate on the pool over a 10-day period from July 6 to July 15. The company expects the voting window to remain open until the blockchain reaches block 961,632, projected for early August. At this point, the soft fork’s fate is likely to be decided.

Initially, Foundry’s default position is to signal “No” for BIP-110. However, should “Yes” votes exceed 51% of the hashrate during the voting window, Foundry will shift to signaling “Yes” on all of its future blocks. Any accounts that do not participate are automatically considered “No” votes. Meanwhile, miners retain the right to change their vote as long as the window remains open, with individual choices remaining confidential and only overall results shared.

Market observers note the significance of Foundry’s decision, as the company currently controls roughly one-third of the network’s total hashrate. Analysts at BGeometrics have suggested that the combined actions of leading pools like Foundry and Antpool could decisively move daily signaling metrics into a range capable of determining the soft fork’s fate.

Supporters believe BIP-110 can help Bitcoin function as true peer-to-peer money, while critics worry it may introduce contentious network changes and prevent certain fee-paying transactions from confirming.

A final signaling window near block 961,632 will require Foundry to declare its majority-supported position before the activation timeline closes. The outcome will depend on where the majority of hashrate-weighted votes fall at the end of the period.