Power struggle hits Bitcoin network over anti-spam proposal with claims of ‘faked’ node support
A dispute has erupted over Bitcoin's BIP-110 anti-spam proposal due to concerns that node support signaling is being artificially inflated.Summary
A power struggle is underway on the Bitcoin network concerning BIP-110, a proposal intended to temporarily tighten consensus-level limits on non-monetary data following Bitcoin Core 30's loosening of the default OP_RETURN policy. Developer Jameson Lopp raised concerns that the sharp surge in nodes signaling support for BIP-110 might be Sybil-inflated, meaning it is artificially boosted by a single actor running many nodes to simulate broader support, echoing past governance battles like SegWit2x. The debate highlights the core governance issue in Bitcoin: whether visible node counts reflect genuine economic support, which Lopp argues they do not, as reachable nodes can be spun up cheaply. BIP-110, authored by Dathon Ohm, aims to restrict data limits, capping output scripts and data pushes, and uses a modified BIP9 with a low 55% signaling threshold, which critics warn increases the risk of a chain split if 45% of hashrate disagrees. The proposal also has technical consequences for Taproot constructions, leading to a debate between those prioritizing a return to Bitcoin's monetary focus and those concerned about constraining network flexibility and coordination failure.
(Source：CryptoSlate)