Bitcoin Knots Seeks Second Chance with BLAKE2b Fork After Previous Attempt Fails
Bitcoin Knots is attempting to fork Bitcoin again after its previous breakaway chain died just two blocks into production. The new proposal, which aims to replace SHA-256d proof of work with BLAKE2b, has been in development since the last attempt failed three weeks ago.
The proposed BLAKE2b fork would require hardware specifically designed for this proof-of-work system, rather than relying on existing SHA-256d miners. According to Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr, machines originally built to mine Sia, such as Bitmain's Antminer A3 and Goldshell SC5 models, could support the new system.
However, there are concerns that not enough mining capacity has been pledged to the mainnet fork. The current testnet4 capacity is estimated at only 50-70 TH/s, which is far short of the required 870 TH/s needed to maintain a 10-minute block interval.
The weekend rehearsal will be a crucial test for the new design. If successful, it would pave the way for a final release on September 1, but if problems arise, another release candidate and reset to the last SHA-2 block may be necessary.