Summary
- Michael Saylor, executive chairman of Strategy, has released a comprehensive 110-point critique against the proposed Bitcoin soft fork, BIP-110.
- This proposal aims to impose temporary restrictions on non-financial data, including Ordinals and inscriptions, on the Bitcoin network.
- Saylor contends that this adjustment sets a harmful precedent by using consensus to invalidate transactions that are currently legitimate and fee-generating.
Michael Saylor has intensified his opposition to a controversial Bitcoin proposal by publishing a detailed 110-point essay over the weekend. He argues that BIP-110, a soft fork intended to limit non-financial data on the network, would ultimately be more damaging than the issues it seeks to address.
The essay, titled "110 Reasons BIP 110 Is a Bad Idea," presents Saylor's case for maintaining neutral rules, strong consensus, open markets, and permissionless innovation. While he aligns with supporters' objectives of keeping validation costs low and ensuring affordable payments, he rejects their proposed solution.
— Michael Saylor (@saylor) July 18, 2026
According to the proposal, BIP-110 would tighten Bitcoin's consensus rules for approximately a year, aiming to restrict methods for embedding arbitrary data. This is focused on inscriptions and Ordinals that have increased block space usage and fees since 2023. Supporters, including developer Luke Dashjr and the Bitcoin Knots group, advocate it as a means to combat spam, while detractors argue it could invalidate valid transactions and lead to network division.
Is it a Solution or a Problem?
Saylor's essay further develops his earlier point that the main risk is the precedent BIP-110 would set. He stated that Bitcoin "cannot read intent," meaning the network cannot discern if bytes represent an image, a proof, a contract, or a future application. Thus, limiting the types of data storage would also block legitimate uses. He claimed, "'Spam' is not a consensus primitive," and simply disapproving of a use case does not equate to invalidity.
He cautioned that altering consensus to regulate one disputed use could create a template for others to follow, potentially affecting privacy tools, innovative custody methods, stablecoin settlements, or token systems that might face similar scrutiny. He emphasized that this is not a mere prediction but a significant governance risk. While the restrictions would be temporary, he noted, "the precedent does not go away." He referred to BIP-110 as a "Bitcoin Iatrogenic Proposal," suggesting that the treatment itself could lead to harm.
Additionally, Saylor criticized the activation design, which lowers the miner-signaling requirement from 95% to 55% compared to previous soft forks and eliminates the usual option for a proposal to quietly lapse. Current signaling is running below 1%, significantly lower than the 55% threshold, according to the proposal's monitoring dashboard. He warned that inconsistent enforcement could potentially fracture the network.
“Defenders of Neutrality”
Saylor framed the argument as a battle for Bitcoin’s essence. He asserted that Bitcoin’s strength lies not in universal agreement on all uses but rather in the ability to contain disagreement through neutral rules and firm consensus. He concluded by stating that "Bitcoin does not need guardians of purity; it needs guardians of neutrality."
His position aligns him with notable figures such as Blockstream CEO Adam Back, Casa's Jameson Lopp, and Bitcoin advocate Samson Mow, who have also voiced opposition to BIP-110, contrasting with Dashjr and the Knots camp. The mandatory signaling window for BIP-110 is set to open in August, with activation aimed for around September 1.
This manifesto emerges as Saylor’s Bitcoin treasury firm shifts from a “never sell” approach to “active capital management,” pausing its Bitcoin acquisitions to increase its cash reserves to $3 billion for stock dividend payments and debt interest obligations. Last week, Strategy CEO Phong Le mentioned that the firm would not be concerned about its debt unless Bitcoin fell to the $8,000–$10,000 range.
In Myriad, a prediction market owned by Decrypt’s parent company Dastan, users currently assign only an 8% probability to Strategy maintaining over 1 million BTC by year’s end, down from 17% just a week prior.