Bitcoin Knots Seeks Second Chance with BLAKE2b Fork

Bitcoin Knots is attempting to fork Bitcoin again after its previous chain died in two blocks. The new attempt comes three weeks after BIP-110 split from the dominant Bitcoin chain and stalled.

The proposal seeks to avoid dependence on existing Bitcoin miners by permanently moving the breakaway network to hardware using BLAKE2b proof of work. This change addresses the weakness that crippled the earlier BIP-110 branch, which asked SHA-256d miners securing Bitcoin to continue producing blocks for a minority fork.

According to Luke Dashjr, the developer behind Bitcoin Knots, the new chain would reject SHA-256d blocks after activation and rely on BLAKE2b hardware. Machines originally built to mine Sia, including Bitmain's Antminer A3 and Goldshell SC5 models, can support the new proof-of-work system.

However, whether enough miners will actually participate remains unclear. Measured testnet4 capacity was estimated at only 50 to 70 TH/s, which is a fraction of the required 870 terahashes per second to maintain 10-minute block intervals.