Bitcoin BIP-110 closes as Schwartz hits Knots warning, miners weigh new algorithm

Bitcoin's BIP-110 is officially closed after its minority chain stalled at two blocks, while Ripple CTO David Schwartz criticized Bitcoin Knots over its attack warning.

Bitcoin's BIP-110 was marked Closed on Aug. 9 after its enforcing branch stalled at block 961,633, just two blocks past the mandatory phase start at block 961,632 on Aug. 8.

David Schwartz, chief technology officer at Ripple, criticized Bitcoin Knots over its attack warning as the proposal's supporters prepare to select a new mining algorithm, according to the Bitcoin Development Mailing List.

The proposal entered mandatory signaling with only 51 of 2,016 preceding blocks (2.53 percent) supporting it. Roughnecks mined blocks 961,632 and 961,633 on the enforcing branch, but no third block followed. OCEAN's BIP-110 mining endpoint still showed block 961,633 as the latest roughly 55 hours after it was mined.

The closure is a documentation and process status change — it does not shut down nodes or miners that continue enforcing the alternative rules. The practical question is whether supporters can attract enough hash power to sustain the branch, or whether they shift to a proof-of-work algorithm change that would constitute a separate rule modification.

BIP editor removed after dispute over BIP-110 handling

The closure coincided with a governance shakeup. Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr was removed as a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal editor on Aug. 10, with GitHub records showing Jon Atack merged the removal request into the bitcoin/bips repository. The current BIP 3 document now lists five editors: Bryan Bishop, Jon Atack, Mark Erhardt, Olaoluwa Osuntokun and Ruben Somsen.

Mark "Murch" Erhardt opened the removal motion on Aug. 9, alleging that Dashjr had inconsistently applied the editorial process while helping develop and promote BIP 110. Dashjr rejected the claims as "false accusations" and said he had followed the BIP process consistently. In an X post, he called the removal "an abuse of power by Core."

The debate exposed a process gap. Jameson Lopp noted there was no formal governance structure covering the management or removal of BIP editors. Antoine Riard similarly argued that BIP 1, BIP 2 and BIP 3 lacked an explicit removal procedure.

Mining algorithm change remains a contingency

Some BIP-110 supporters have prepared for the possibility that existing Bitcoin miners continue rejecting the proposal. Developer Chris Guida rebased experimental proof-of-work change code originally authored in part by Dashjr. The GitHub comparison contains 12 commits affecting 19 files, including code for selecting a different proof-of-work algorithm.

However, the code does not establish a scheduled network change. Guida described it as "just some code to have in our back pocket" and said no activation deadline had been set. The proof-of-work proposal remains a contingency rather than an announced hard fork with a fixed date.

For BIP-110, mining activity remains the practical measure to watch. The minority branch remained frozen at block 961,633 while the dominant Bitcoin chain continued advancing. Unless miners direct materially more hash power toward the alternative branch, its existing difficulty makes continued block production slow.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.