Saylor Warns Misguided Protocol Changes Threaten Bitcoin

Bitcoin's future trajectory is being shaped by institutional capital flows and digital credit, not halving cycles, according to Michael Saylor. The co-founder of Strategy warned that misguided protocol changes could harm Bitcoin from within.

Saylor specifically targeted the BIP-110 protocol change, calling it a 'bad idea' that drives 'iatrogenic protocol changes', which means harm caused by treatment itself. He described this as the single greatest danger to Bitcoin.

The proposal aims to restrict non-monetary data in Bitcoin transactions, targeting Ordinals inscriptions, BRC-20 tokens and large OP_RETURN payloads. Critics argue that these arbitrary data competes with payments and drives up fees for ordinary users.

Blockstream CEO Adam Back took the opposite view, warning that consensus-level restrictions could damage Bitcoin's credibility as a store of value and set a precedent for future transaction censorship. He argued that Bitcoin's strength rests on neutral, predictable rules, and that BIP-110 trades this foundation for what he called a 'spam filter' that fails at filtering spam.

The community remains sharply divided, with supporters framing BIP-110 as a defense of Bitcoin's identity as sound money. The signaling process for BIP-110 is ongoing, with a possible activation decision approaching later in 2026.