Bitcoin's BIP-110 Fork Falls 18 Blocks Behind After Contentious Split

Following two years of heated debate, Bitcoin crossed the BIP-110 signaling threshold at block 961632, splitting into competing chains as the dominant network continued stacking blocks. Within hours, the main chain had extended its lead to roughly 18 blocks, underscoring the lopsided distribution of mining power between the two networks. BIP-110 supporters have expressed alarm at the outcome, while Bitcoin Knots creator Luke Dashjr issued an urgent public advisory.

"PSA: If you haven't upgraded to Bitcoin Knots 29.3.knots20260508 (or 29.4) yet, you are now vulnerable to double-spending attacks aided by [Foundry and Antpool]," Dashjr wrote on X. He further warned in bold text: "Upgrade ASAP to avoid accepting counterfeit bitcoins."

Dathon Ohm, the anonymous architect behind BIP-110, also posted on X, stating: "The Bitcoin network is currently under attack from hostile miners."

Roughnecks Mines Second Block as Main Chain Pulls Away

As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the BIP-110-supporting mining operation Roughnecks competed directly with Antpool for block 961632. Antpool claimed the block on Bitcoin's dominant chain, while Roughnecks' competing version of block 961632 remained isolated on the BIP-110 fork. Roughnecks subsequently mined an additional block on the minority chain at height 961633.

Compounding the situation, Bitcoin's mining difficulty adjusted upward at height 961632, reaching 127.48 trillion at the precise moment the chain split into competing versions.

This difficulty increase poses a severe challenge for the BIP-110 minority chain. Bitcoin's difficulty mechanism recalibrates every 2,016 blocks—roughly every two weeks under normal conditions—and does not automatically adjust downward when most miners depart. This means Roughnecks and allied miners must solve blocks against the same 127.48 trillion target using only a fraction of the main chain's computing power. Without a substantial influx of hashrate to the breakaway chain, block intervals could lengthen dramatically, leaving BIP-110 effectively stalled for an extended period before enough blocks accumulate to trigger the next downward adjustment.

Ocean-Linked Hashrate Breaks Ranks on the Dominant Chain

Simple Mining, an Iowa-based hosting provider that directs hashrate to Ocean Mining, mined Bitcoin block 961634 on the dominant chain. Simple Mining operates through Ocean's DATUM system, which enables individual miners and hosting operators to construct their own block templates, including the option to set the BIP-110 version bit.

This development is notable because Ocean has been closely associated with the BIP-110 camp. Dashjr serves as the pool's CTO, and much of the proposal's early signaling originated through Ocean and DATUM miners. However, Simple Mining's block landed firmly on Bitcoin's dominant chain, indicating that Ocean-linked hashrate is not uniformly following the BIP-110 minority fork—a signal that economic incentives are drawing miners toward the chain with greater accumulated proof of work, the metric Bitcoin's consensus rules use to identify the canonical chain.

Roughnecks Continues 'Wildcatting' on the Breakaway Chain

Roughnecks' 110th Mining Division celebrated mining two consecutive BIP-110 blocks at heights 961632 and 961633, comparing the achievement to "wildcatting" in oil exploration—where prospectors take significant risks on unproven territory hoping for a major discovery. Dashjr reposted Roughnecks' announcement on X.

BIP-110 Supporters React, Some Propose PoW Algorithm Change

BIP-110 proponents have expressed frustration with the chain split outcome. "RIP Bitcoin. You just became only another captured speculative asset. Sorry Satoshi, we failed you," an X user and BIP-110 supporter known as BTCbello wrote.

Matthew Kratter, one of the proposal's most prominent advocates, acknowledged that it would now require an "absolute miracle" for the BIP-110 chain to overtake the legacy chain in cumulative work—a reference to the fundamental Nakamoto consensus rule under which the chain with the greatest total accumulated proof of work is recognized as valid.

Some BIP-110 supporters floated the idea of altering the minority chain's proof-of-work algorithm, a concept previously debated during Bitcoin's 2017 scaling disputes but never implemented on the main chain. "We have nothing to lose by starting new with a POW. So much potential and freedom in being able to see what just clearly happened and make the corrections needed to keep this alive. This is Independence Day for sound and decentralized money," the X account Maitreya Lockwood wrote in response to Kratter's latest video on the subject.