Bitcoin BLAKE2b Fork Freezes New Mining Rewards for 45 Days
The Bitcoin BLAKE2b fork has announced plans to lock new mining rewards for 45 days in response to what it sees as 'apathetic incumbents' misusing the network. The minority chain, which was forked from Bitcoin on August 8, 2026, aims to prevent large non-monetary data from being transferred.
The move, implemented through pull request #419 on GitHub, will freeze new coinbase rewards until block 979920. This is the first step in a series of measures aimed at stabilizing the network and preventing abuse. According to Luke Dashjr, the creator of Bitcoin Knots, this is only the beginning: 'The maturity window would later grow to a full year.'
The freeze has been sparked by concerns that large pools are dominating the network and 'attacking' it as it tries to stabilize. The pull request reviewers had expressed their own reservations about the measure, warning that a node running the new rules without the majority of hashrate behind it would fork off at enforcement.
The Bitcoin BLAKE2b token has seen significant price fluctuations since its listing in early September, reaching $1,799 before dropping 84% to trade between $270 and $315. Neoxa, one of the few exchanges that lists the asset, announced on Sunday that it will support the upcoming soft fork for XBT.