Bitcoin Blockchain Splits as BIP-110 Enters Enforcement Phase
The Bitcoin blockchain has split into two competing chains after nodes running BIP-110 entered a mandatory-signaling phase that requires blocks to carry an approval signal. This development creates a divergence between nodes enforcing the proposed rules and the broader network, where support among miners remains limited.
The split began at block 961,632 when Antpool, one of Bitcoin's largest mining pools, produced a block without the required BIP-110 signal. Most nodes accepted that block as valid, while computers enforcing BIP-110 rejected it and instead recognized a different block produced by Roughnecks, a miner associated with Ocean.
The disagreement behind BIP-110 is part of a broader debate within the Bitcoin community over the role of non-financial data on the blockchain. BIP-110 proposes limiting the inclusion of non-financial data, including Ordinals inscriptions, for a period of one year. Supporters argue that permanent storage of such information can impose additional burdens on node operators and increase the amount of data that participants must maintain.
The split does not necessarily mean that Bitcoin has permanently divided. Instead, it represents the emergence of a minority chain following a different set of consensus-enforcement rules. Its long-term viability will depend on sustained participation from miners, node operators, and users.