Bitcoin's BIP 110 Enters Mandatory Signaling Phase with Meager Miner Support

Bitcoin's BIP 110 has entered its mandatory signaling phase after block 961,632 was reached. However, miner support remains below 3%, far from the required 55% threshold for activation.

The project relies on a User-Activated Soft Fork (UASF) mechanism, which gives node operators a central role in enforcing their own rules. This means that even if miners refuse to signal BIP 110, nodes can still reject blocks produced by non-compliant miners.

Despite the low miner support, proponents of BIP 110 point to the activation of SegWit in 2017 via BIP-148 as a precedent for successful implementation through user adoption. The project's supporters argue that limiting non-financial data insertion can reduce blockchain congestion and refocus network priorities on monetary use.

However, the risk of a minority chain emerging is real, and the outcome will depend on node operators' ability to enforce their own rules. If nodes favoring BIP 110 reject the majority's chain, two Bitcoin networks could coexist for an extended period.