A major split has emerged in the Bitcoin blockchain after the BIP-110-enforcing branch stalled at block 961,633, having produced only two blocks, while the non-enforcing chain pushed forward to block 961,721. This divergence resulted in an 88-block gap between the two chains over the weekend, highlighting the challenges faced by supporters of the new proposal.
Two chains, one network
The issue began when BIP-110 entered its mandatory signaling phase at block 961,632. Under this protocol, only nodes that enforce BIP-110 rules accept blocks signaling through version bit 4, while standard Bitcoin nodes continue to process both signaling and non-signaling blocks. As of the cut-off point, just 51 out of the previous 2,016 blocks—or about 2.53%—had signaled support for the upgrade, according to data from the BIP-110 monitor.
At 10:19 am UTC, the monitor reported that the branch’s last block was mined roughly 12 hours prior. Ocean, a mining organization, indicated that the pseudonymous group Roughnecks mined these two BIP-110 blocks using the Decentralized Alternative Templates for Universal Mining (DATUM) protocol. With so little hashpower supporting the enforcing branch, additional blocks could not be produced rapidly.
BIP-110’s rules stipulate that mandatory signaling will continue until block 963,647, requiring all enforcing miners to finish the current 2,016-block difficulty adjustment period. Unless these miners attract significantly more hashpower, the enforcing branch is likely to make only minimal progress before the difficulty can be reassessed.
Industry leaders voice concerns
The proposal has drawn criticism from several prominent figures in the Bitcoin community. Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor acknowledged that he supports the general goals of BIP-110 but rejected its method, arguing that it could undermine Bitcoin’s foundational principles of neutrality and consensus.
Strategy chairman Michael Saylor expressed his alignment with the proposal’s aims but voiced concern that its approach risks undermining Bitcoin’s neutral rules and consensus framework.
Blockstream CEO Adam Back also cautioned that such consensus-level changes could erode Bitcoin’s credibility and, in some extreme scenarios, render specific unspent transaction outputs unspendable, undermining user trust in the chain.
Blockstream CEO Adam Back highlighted that making significant changes at the consensus level may seriously impact Bitcoin’s credibility, potentially making some unspent transaction outputs unspendable.
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