Key Takeaways
- • Michael Saylor, co-founder of Strategy (the world's largest publicly traded corporate Bitcoin holder), opposes the BIP 110 proposal, warning that changing consensus rules to fight spam sets a more dangerous precedent than the spam itself.
- • BIP 110, the Reduced Data Temporary Soft Fork, would run for one year and restore a smaller OP_RETURN limit while restricting larger data uploads used by Ordinals, inscriptions and some Bitcoin-based tokens.
- • Nodes adopting BIP 110 would reject blocks containing transactions that are valid under current rules, which critics say amounts to protocol-level censorship of fee-paying transactions.
- • Miner support stood at just 1.3% as of July 13, according to the public BIP 110 signaling monitor, well below the 55% threshold for early lock-in.
- • The voluntary signaling deadline is expected in August at block 961,542, with some publisher context citing a 2.6% miner signaling figure.
Summary
Michael Saylor, co-founder of Strategy, has publicly opposed BIP 110, a Bitcoin proposal that would temporarily limit non-financial data in transactions. In a July 11 post on X, Saylor argued that Bitcoin should not change its core transaction rules to block data some users consider spam. He wrote: "BIP 110 turns a spam dispute into a consensus change that would invalidate some currently valid, fee-paying transactions. That precedent is the danger."
BIP 110, also known as the Reduced Data Temporary Soft Fork, would change Bitcoin's network rules for one year. It would restore a smaller limit for OP_RETURN, a field commonly used to attach data to transactions, and restrict larger data uploads. These methods are used by Ordinals, inscriptions and some Bitcoin-based tokens to store NFTs and token records on the blockchain. Nodes that adopt the proposal would reject blocks containing transactions that exceed the limits, even though those transactions are valid under current rules.
Supporters argue that storing images, text and token records on Bitcoin enlarges the blockchain, forcing full-node operators to download, store and relay more data. According to Bitcoin Core's official download page, the software requires an initial download of about 600 GB and adds another 5 GB to 10 GB each month. Critics, including Saylor, counter that the proposal would introduce protocol-level censorship. The BIP 110 specification acknowledges that it would intentionally block data-storage use cases.
The proposal can lock in early if miners signal support in at least 55% of blocks during a 2,016-block period, below the 95% threshold traditionally used for permanent consensus changes. According to the public BIP 110 signaling monitor, miner support stood at 1.3% as of July 13, and the voluntary signaling deadline is expected in August at block 961,542. Adam Back has also reportedly opposed the proposal, according to coverage in the publisher's context materials.
BIP 110, also known as the Reduced Data Temporary Soft Fork, would change Bitcoin's network rules for one year. It would restore a smaller limit for OP_RETURN, a field commonly used to attach data to transactions, and restrict larger data uploads. These methods are used by Ordinals, inscriptions and some Bitcoin-based tokens to store NFTs and token records on the blockchain. Nodes that adopt the proposal would reject blocks containing transactions that exceed the limits, even though those transactions are valid under current rules.
Supporters argue that storing images, text and token records on Bitcoin enlarges the blockchain, forcing full-node operators to download, store and relay more data. According to Bitcoin Core's official download page, the software requires an initial download of about 600 GB and adds another 5 GB to 10 GB each month. Critics, including Saylor, counter that the proposal would introduce protocol-level censorship. The BIP 110 specification acknowledges that it would intentionally block data-storage use cases.
The proposal can lock in early if miners signal support in at least 55% of blocks during a 2,016-block period, below the 95% threshold traditionally used for permanent consensus changes. According to the public BIP 110 signaling monitor, miner support stood at 1.3% as of July 13, and the voluntary signaling deadline is expected in August at block 961,542. Adam Back has also reportedly opposed the proposal, according to coverage in the publisher's context materials.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.