July 17, 2026
Reduced Data Temporary Softfork
Will Bitcoin miners signal
BIP-110 before the deadline?
Mandatory signaling begins at block 961,632. Here's where the network stands right now.
Estimated time to block 961,632
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Days
--
Hours
--
Minutes
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Seconds
Estimate assumes a ~10-minute average block interval from the current tip. Actual timing shifts with network hash rate — treat this as directional, not a locked date.
Currently signaling
2.01%
13 of 646 blocks this period
Activation threshold
55%
of blocks in a period
Blocks remaining
1,371
until block 961,632
Current period
#476
959,616 – 961,631
Signal Strength
Miner signaling, period over period
Each Bitcoin difficulty period spans 2,016 blocks. Signaling has ticked upward as the deadline nears, but stays far below the ~55% needed for lock-in.
Signaling rate by period
Periods 465–476 · % of blocksDistance to activation
Period #476 · live-est.2.01%
signaling now
55% required
0%100%
646 / 2,016 blocks elapsed in period #476.
1,370 blocks remain before the mandatory-signaling period begins at block 961,632.
1,370 blocks remain before the mandatory-signaling period begins at block 961,632.
Even at the fastest recent pace of increase, signaling would need a roughly 25× jump to clear 55% — which is why the current risk of an actual chain split is considered remote.
What It Does
What is BIP-110?
BIP-110, formally the "Reduced Data Temporary Softfork," is a proposed one-year Bitcoin soft fork that would restrict how much non-financial data transactions can carry.
34 B
Caps most new transaction outputs at 34 bytes of non-financial data.
83 B
Restores an 83-byte limit on OP_RETURN outputs.
Taproot
Temporarily limits Taproot features used for "inscriptions" — the technique behind Ordinals-style NFTs on Bitcoin.
1 Year
Framed as temporary — the restrictions would sunset after roughly one year.
The Fight
A proposal that split the community
Supporters see spam mitigation. Critics see a consensus change with real costs — and the disagreement runs all the way up to the BIP's own editor.
Supporters say
Bitcoin's block space should stay reserved for sound money — not used as cheap storage for "spam" data.
— General framing from BIP-110 proponents
The proposal is pitched as a defense of Bitcoin's original purpose, pushing non-financial data — including Ordinals-style inscriptions — out of the base chain.
Critics say
This turns a spam dispute into a consensus change that would invalidate some currently valid, fee-paying transactions.
— Michael Saylor (Strategy), paraphrased
Casa's Jameson Lopp and Strategy's Michael Saylor have both publicly opposed BIP-110. Notably, even the BIP editor who assigned it a number has criticized the proposal despite formally publishing it — and opponents call the data restrictions a form of censorship.
Fork Mechanics
The Bitcoin fork debate around BIP-110
BIP-110 is written as a soft fork, yet its activation method is the reason critics treat it as a fork threat.
Soft Fork vs. Hard Fork Explained
A soft fork tightens the rules and old nodes still accept new blocks. A hard fork changes rules in a way old nodes reject, which can create a lasting chain split. BIP-110 qualifies as a soft fork because it only makes rules stricter.
Why Critics Dispute the Label
Critics point to three features. Mandatory signaling means enforcing nodes reject blocks from miners who never agreed to the change. Wallets that use now-prohibited features face forward compatibility breakage even though nodes do not. And the 55% lock-in threshold replaces the traditional 95% standard for soft forks. Jameson Lopp's critical walkthrough argues these choices raise chain split risk well past prior soft forks.
Lessons From Previous Bitcoin Forks
SegWit activated in 2017 after the block size wars split the community for years. The UASF threat of that era (BIP 148) never triggered because SegWit locked in through miner signaling first. Critics cite that history to argue UASF safety is unproven. Supporters draw the opposite lesson and say the threat alone moved miners.
Where Things Stand
Governance fight, not (yet) a network split
Miner signaling has stayed far below the ~55% threshold — recently in the low single digits — which keeps the odds of an actual chain split remote as the mandatory signaling window approaches.
Jul 30, 2026
Signaling sits at 2.01% in period #476 — a slow but steady climb from near-zero.
~Aug 9, 2026
Estimated arrival at block 961,632 — the start of the mandatory signaling window.
Ongoing
Lock-in requires ~55% signaling within a period. Until then, this remains a fight over governance and identity, not an imminent split.
Questions & Answers
FAQs about BIP-110
What happens to existing Ordinals if BIP-110 activates?
Existing Ordinals and inscriptions remain on the blockchain and stay spendable. BIP-110 grandfathers every UTXO created before activation for the entire deployment. The rules apply only to new outputs created after activation.
Is BIP-110 the same as increasing Bitcoin's block size?
No. BIP-110 restricts certain data types and leaves the block size unchanged. It is a data-limit proposal rather than a scaling proposal.
Can BIP-110 be reversed after activation?
BIP-110 does not need reversal because it expires on its own. The rules lapse 52,416 blocks after activation, which works out to about one year. Extending the limits would require a new proposal and fresh consensus.
Is BIP-110 the same as the eCash fork?
No. BIP-110 is a soft fork that tightens data rules on the existing Bitcoin chain, while eCash is a separate hard fork planned by Paul Sztorc near block 964,000 with a 1:1 airdrop. Their August 2026 timing overlaps but the two events are unrelated.
Which mining pools support or oppose BIP-110?
As of late July 2026 no major pool signals for BIP-110, though Foundry USA opened a hashrate-weighted miner vote that runs until early August with non-responses counting as No. F2Pool has refused outright and AntPool remains silent. Ocean produces effectively all signaling blocks after switching to signal by default on July 15. Check your pool's public statements before the August window.
Will there be more proposals like BIP-110?
More proposals are likely. The BIP-110 specification invites a longer-term successor once it expires. Some supporters favor a stricter follow-on idea known as The Cat, and Bitcoin's open process lets anyone submit the next one.
What happens to Bitcoin ETFs if there is a chain split?
Spot ETF holders would not receive forked coins. BlackRock's IBIT prospectus states the trust will permanently and irrevocably abandon any rights to forked or airdropped assets, and other issuers use similar language. Only holders who control their own private keys before a snapshot would have a claim to a split chain's coins.
Related Coverage
Bitcoin Magazine on BIP-110
Technical The Bitcoin Softfork That Tried To Police "Junk Data" — And Why It's Already Failing
July 14, 2026
