Knots

A controversial proposal — supported by the Knots community — aimed at clearing up spam on the Bitcoin network, attempted to fork on Saturday. It failed spectacularly, picking up only a fraction of the mining power of the main Bitcoin network.

After three days of validation and half a day of deep scanning, the findings force a hard look at what “content on the blockchain” really means for ordinary node operators.

The proposal to temporarily restrict arbitrary data in Bitcoin transactions lacks economic nodes, protocol developers, and hashrate. History from the 2017 UASF shows nodes succeed only with broad investor and developer weight behind them.

Bitcoin’s real power is that anyone willing to pay fees can write to the ledger. BIP-110’s backers want to change that for data-heavy transactions. The backlash reveals what’s truly at stake.

The United States government stands mere months, if not weeks, from the passing of stablecoin legislation that will set the playing field for the...