Bitcoin Hard Fork Looms as Miners Refuse to Cooperate with BIP-110
The Bitcoin community is bracing for a possible contentious hard fork as proponents of BIP-110, a temporary soft fork, are preparing to switch to a proof-of-work (PoW) algorithm if miners refuse to cooperate.
BIP-110 aims to restrict arbitrary data embedded in transactions and restore an 83-byte consensus limit for OP_RETURN. If the proposal reaches 55% miner signaling or 1,109 of 2,016 blocks, it will be implemented. However, its supporters are readying a PoW switch as leverage against miners who might block or stall BIP-110.
Guida has reactivated code written by Luke Dashjr in 2017 and rebased it onto the Bitcoin Knots codebase. The updated branch includes changes to mining validation, consensus settings, block handling, chain parameters, and functional tests. Guida expects miners to support a smooth BIP-110 activation but has emphasized that the PoW switch is a 'last-resort contingency' rather than an imminent fork.
The PoW change would make today's specialized ASICs ineffective on the new chain unless developers select a compatible replacement algorithm. This move has sparked concerns about the potential fragmentation of liquidity and the creation of a minority cryptocurrency with weak infrastructure support.