Bitcoin developers who support BIP-110 are preparing to launch a new chain that uses BLAKE2b proof-of-work, with a target date set for September 1st. Previously, the minority branch received almost no support from mainstream miners, so this time the plan has turned towards an independent fork.
The previous branch only produced two blocks.
BIP-110 was not originally a proposal to change the mining algorithm. It was initially a temporary soft fork solution, with the core objective of restricting the way certain non-financial data could be written onto the Bitcoin blockchain, including large-sized OP_RETURN outputs, script formats, and any data exceeding 256 bytes in length.
Supporters believe that such restrictions help to reduce the storage pressure on nodes and allow Bitcoin to focus more on its monetary purpose. Opponents, however, argue that how block space is used should be determined by transaction fees and node strategies.
However, when BIP-110 entered the mandatory enforcement phase in August, it only received support from about 2.53% of miners. Its branch chain initially produced only two blocks, indicating that the majority of miners continued to stay on the existing Bitcoin main chain.
The new chain has switched to using BLAKE2b for mining.
The network planned this time will not be directly activated on the Bitcoin mainnet by BIP-110; instead, it will be an independent hardfork chain. It will replace the SHA-256d mining algorithm used by Bitcoin with the BLAKE2b algorithm and create its own on-chain assets.
This means that existing Bitcoin miners cannot directly switch their computing power to the new network. Supporters hope to use this to break away from their dependence on mainstream Bitcoin miners and establish a new mining community instead. The report mentions that some devices designed for versions related to Sia and BLAKE2b may be compatible, but this does not necessarily mean that enough miners will actually join.
Developers have arranged for rehearsals before the official launch. If the testing goes smoothly, the relevant results may be retained in version Bitcoin Knots from 29.4.1 and will be rolled out on September 1st. If technical issues arise, a new candidate version may be required, and it will be necessary to revert back to the last SHA-256 block for reprocessing.
Exchanges and wallets have not yet made any statements.
As of before the planned launch, no major exchanges, mainstream wallets, or Lightning Network have made public commitments to support this BLAKE2b fork chain. Without the necessary infrastructure in place, the new assets generated after the fork may face a lack of clear pricing in the initial stages, and it is not certain that they will be able to quickly find available trading markets.
Another issue to be observed is replay protection. If the same transaction is valid on both chains, a transfer made by a user on one chain could theoretically be copied to the other chain, unless asset separation is carried out in advance or additional protective measures are taken.
On August 31st, discussions surrounding this fork plan also extended to social media platforms. BIP-110 supporters, along with Loogart and co-founder Ripple David Schwartz, engaged in arguments over related statements. Schwartz opposed describing the existing Bitcoin network as something that needed to be “fixed.” The report also noted that this comment represented only their personal views, and Ripple and XRP Ledger were not involved in the proposal or the technical advancement of the new chain.
Additional information:The report mentioned that September 1st is closer to the target launch time, rather than the irreversible official activation point; moreover, the final block height for the mainnet activation has not yet been determined before the completion of the drill.
