The BIP-110 fork of Bitcoin is significantly lagging behind the main network, currently 300 blocks behind and facing an estimated six-year wait for any adjustments.
Since its split on Saturday, the BIP-110 chain has only produced two blocks, while Bitcoin has generated over 300 in the same timeframe.
By Shaurya Malwa 33 min ago 2 min read
A proposed change to Bitcoin’s protocol, known as BIP-110, resulted in a chain split on Saturday. Since then, the new chain has only managed to produce two blocks and has effectively stalled.
The BIP-110 fork inherited Bitcoin's high mining difficulty, yet lacks any market value, which has discouraged miners from supporting it. As a result, it currently sits 326 blocks behind the main Bitcoin network.
To lower its mining difficulty, the fork must first reach 2,016 blocks, a milestone that is now projected to take over six years to achieve. However, some experts warn that it might be premature to label the fork a failure.
The BIP-110 chain, which split from Bitcoin on Saturday, has not progressed beyond block 961,633, its second block. Meanwhile, Bitcoin has advanced to block 961,959, widening the gap to 326 blocks.
This split was initiated by the BIP-110 proposal, aiming to halt the storage of non-payment data like images and text in Bitcoin transactions for a full year. Such a change requires consensus among miners, who indicate their agreement by marking the blocks they produce. BIP-110 needed 55% support over a two-week period but peaked at only 2.6%.
Rather than accept this lack of support, the proposal included a mechanism to reject blocks that did not comply with its requirements. At block 961,632, computers running BIP-110 began to disregard blocks lacking the necessary marks, effectively switching to a chain that only included compliant blocks.
Bitcoin operates on a ledger made up of blocks, each containing a set of transactions added by miners. These miners, who run specialized computer systems, compete to produce the next block and are rewarded with newly minted Bitcoin and transaction fees, with blocks being added roughly every ten minutes.
The ten-minute interval is not fixed; it is determined by a difficulty level that adjusts every 2,016 blocks. If blocks are being produced too quickly, the difficulty increases; if too slowly, it decreases. Under normal circumstances, it takes about two weeks to complete 2,016 blocks.
After producing just two blocks, the BIP-110 chain came to a halt. Mining this chain incurs the same costs as mining Bitcoin, as both chains share the same difficulty level established at the split, but the forked coin has no market value, exchange listings, or buyers.
Additionally, it cannot reduce its mining difficulty until it completes 2,016 blocks at its current rate. A live monitor now suggests that this adjustment could be as far as 6.3 years away, an increase from the earlier estimate of 350 days as of Sunday.
This timeframe is based on recent block production rates, meaning that every hour of inactivity extends the waiting period further. Bitcoin’s next difficulty adjustment is expected in 12 days.
Nonetheless, some industry figures believe it is too soon to make definitive judgments. "I think it is still too early to draw any firm conclusions from the initial block production," stated Himanshu Sahay, co-founder of Arch. He noted that changes to Bitcoin’s rules require coordination among miners, developers, and the broader ecosystem. While the current gap is noteworthy, he cautioned against labeling it a failure at this stage.