Bitcoin’s soft fork proposal BIP-110 is approaching its mandatory signaling phase with less than two weeks left before the critical block height. At block 961632, expected around August 9, nodes running BIP-110-compatible software will start rejecting blocks that do not signal version bit 4. This deadline is driving a slow but steady rise in miner signaling, now sitting at about 2.64%, up from under 1% a few weeks ago.
Gradual Uptick in Miner Support
While the overall percentage might seem modest, the increase demonstrates growing interest in BIP-110 among smaller and independent miners. Ocean and other small operators lead the charge, joined by miners like Roughnecks, SoV, Barefoot Mining, and Peer to Peer Money. Major mining pools such as Antpool, ViaBTC, Foundry, and F2pool, which collectively control the bulk of Bitcoin’s hashrate, remain hesitant and have not shifted toward signaling BIP-110 yet.
BIP-110, also called the Reduced Data Temporary Softfork, targets reducing the size of certain Bitcoin transaction data fields. It mainly restricts Ordinals-style inscriptions and large OP_RETURN payloads but leaves everyday transactions like normal Bitcoin transfers, Taproot spends, and Lightning channel activity unaffected. If activated, the new rules would kick in around block 965664 and remain enforced for roughly one year before expiring automatically.
What Support Looks Like Now
Signaling is measured by the presence of a specific version bit in mined blocks. The threshold for Foundry's signaling to actually switch to "Yes" sits at 51% of the hashrate, far higher than the current 2.64%. This gap highlights that while the proposal is gaining traction, it has yet to convince the largest mining pools. Given the timeline, the coming days will be critical to see if any major pool shifts its stance or if smaller operations can push the proposal forward.
As the clock ticks, this measured rise in signaling contrasts with past Bitcoin upgrades where large pools moved swiftly to adopt changes. The network appears cautious, perhaps reflecting debates about the impact of BIP-110 on data-heavy transactions. For those tracking Bitcoin protocol changes, the next two weeks will be key for this soft fork’s fate.
This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute financial advice.
