Bitcoin Knots Readies BLAKE2b Test After Stalled Chain Split
Bitcoin Knots is gearing up for a crucial test on Sunday, which aims to replace SHA-256d proof of work with BLAKE2b in a dissident network. The test comes three weeks after the BIP-110 chain split from Bitcoin's main network and stalled after producing only two blocks.
Luke Dashjr warned SHA-2 miners to stop mining before the August 30 test, as per the described plan. If the rehearsal is successful, a final version of Bitcoin Knots could preserve the new chain on September 1; otherwise, there would be another release candidate and a return to the last SHA-2 block.
Despite the efforts to avoid renewed reliance on miners already used in Bitcoin by rejecting SHA-256d blocks after activation and using hardware compatible with BLAKE2b, central points remain undefined. The public releases page for Bitcoin Knots did not show rc4 or the final 29.4.1 page as of August 29, while major changes in proof of work and the mainnet activation height were still not settled.
One of the issues is the temporary block weight limit, with disagreement over its value, which could lead to nodes applying different values and disagreeing on a block's validity. Another concern is the risk of replay, since both networks would inherit the same transaction history and balances before the fork.