Bitcoin Anti-Spam Soft Fork Likely Dead Amid Lack of Support

A proposed Bitcoin 'anti-spam' soft fork, BIP-110, has stalled and is likely dead. The proposal aimed to eliminate non-financial transactions from the blockchain, but opponents argued it would impose censorship on the chain.

Despite securing only 2.5% support ahead of mandatory signaling, supporters attempted to mine a new chain, but it failed after just two blocks were mined in eight hours due to the difficulty adjustment not being triggered.

The proposal's opponents, including prominent Bitcoin advocates like Michael Saylor and Adam Back, argued that BIP-110 threatened Bitcoin's neutral rules and consensus. Blockstream CEO Adam Back warned that the consensus-level change could damage Bitcoin's credibility and make certain unspent transaction outputs unspendable.